


And the Road is Endless...

by Omicron_The_IceQueen



Series: The Road Saga [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-09 05:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 56,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omicron_The_IceQueen/pseuds/Omicron_The_IceQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trapped in an ever changing world that belongs mostly to humans, Sonic makes his way with the one of the few real friend he's made. It doesn't really matter to him if he can't remember how he got on this road. He's here and the path ahead seems to have no end of possibilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “It is said, that all ending are merely beginnings, waiting to be born…” -Mata Nui, The Legend Reborn

 White-hot pain, it burned all over, inside and out. The pain happened so fast that it took a few moments longer for him to realize what was going on. The mass of energy was shifting around him, it drowned and engulfed him completely as it changed his body to suit the needs if the true core of his being.

The desire to move, to run, to do something started to build up inside of him, but he was trapped in the flocculating power. He was becoming shorter, part of his body’s mass dissolving away. Yet at the same time he was becoming stronger then before. He was leaner, muscles reforming so the most powerful were in his legs, making him faster. More importantly his heart was changing, both physically to be able to weather what was to come, but metaphorically as well with it suddenly unchaining so fast that he gasped.  
  
He needed to get _away_ and run. Though some part of his mind refused to do so, he had a duty, dreams… duty… a duty? What in the world? Why would he have a duty to anything or anyone?

Parts evaporated and others grew, at first the layer of rich blue fur was thin. Clumps of his hair lengthened and fused together as it became hard, yet still smallish quills that were the same light blue shade. His still-forming quills stood up on end as a growing tail went ridged as it extended.

Things that he had worried about everyday were becoming less important as other thoughts surged to the forefront of his mind. Still other thoughts and memories faded away into nothing, forever lost as that other part of him died.

 Dilated green eyes opened and stared ahead in the ever-lasting whiteness that surrounded him.

  _Chaos!_

Those same green eyes became clearer, sharper then before. They were no longer tainted with regrets or fears and the rest of his form changed once more, but it was different this time. For the energy and chaos no longer hurt. It curled around him, absorbing into his lean form, turning his light blue fur a radiant golden color. Now long quills, that were also the same golden color, spread out behind him, bending upwards without breaking.

He closed his eyes feeling the energy become apart of him, no longer randomly flicking out in all directions. Rather, he _controlled_ it, pulling it into himself. He slowly drifted back down to the ground as the last trails of the Chaos Blast were absorbed into the anthro’s body.

Men and woman, guards, researchers and soldiers, all those that had rushed over now exchanged looks between one another. Their stunned gazes always drifting back to the new anthro as he stood still with his eyes closed.

The anthro’s ears twitched up as he heard voices then flicked this way and that to pick up the murmurs of the other people, but other then that he didn’t move.

“…Hines?” A hesitant voice of one of the soldiers called.

Blood red eyes snapped open and anthro looked over at the man, who froze in place. There were no color-pigmentations in the Anthro’s eyes, so the circulating blood in showed through. Despite the shade of his gaze there wasn’t animalist drives, or even threatening to this being. His eyes showed intelligence and some mild curiosity as he tilted his head before softening as fleeting, and fading, memories of flirting with the woman that had spoken up next.

“ _I’m sorry._ ” The anthro looked down, voice echoing with power. When he looked up again his eyes had gone a pure, solid white as his form started to glow almost from within. “ _Chaos…_ ”

“No! Scott!”

“Sir, wait!”

“Don’t let him get away!”

“… _control!_ ”

The area flooded with light and energy again, but this time everything seemed to stop. Or at the very least, slowed down to a crawling pace for everyone, except for three people. It didn’t last long, just enough for what was still left of his former self to whisper goodbye.

New claws flexed, skin pricked while fur and quills flared out into a silver-white color before he disappeared and the world came back to its normal pace. But somewhere very far away, states and almost the entire length of the county, the night was broken with the bright flash of a Chaos Control based teleport.

A dark blue anthro hedgehog fell from the center of it and thudded onto hard black top of the road with a startled yelp. “Huk… _ow_.” The hedgehog muttered into the pavement.

After a few minutes of getting better acquainted with the roadway, the anthro carefully started to pry himself loose and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He flattened his ears as he checked over his person patting hands over ears, muzzle, neck, sides, a key point that was lower... and then behind to a twitching tail. Making sure everything was where it should be and nothing was broken.

The bases’ of his dark blue quills were sore, like they had been repeatedly yanked too hard, but not hard enough to be pulled out. The same quills were wild and swept back into clumps, and like his fur were no longer a light blue shade except for the steaks that ran through them. Looking down he found that his belly and lower chest were a rich brown color, though unaware at the moment that his muzzle and inner ears were the same shade.

A semi-short tail twitched and the hedgehog blinked around, trying to figure out where he was as he stood. Ears rotated around, trying to catch any sound and only picking up a questioning cricket that was trying to see if it was safe again.

The hedgehog looked down, touching the few remaining shreds of fabric on his person. He peeled those off, but paused to just stare at his feet. Twitching his toes under the stained cloth.

“Why... do I have socks but no shoes?” He wondered balancing with no noticed effort on first one foot to take off the offending sock. He sniffed it, and promptly gagged. “Dear Chaos!” He tossed it away, snorting and trying to clear his nose sensitive nose of the scents of sweet, blood and Guardians only knew what else. Hopping to his other foot the hedgehog anthro made fast work of ridding himself of the other sock and tossing it even farther away.

Two bright lights and the blaring of a horn from behind made the anthro jump and spin around. Emerald orbs took in the _massive_ , and rather _scary_ looking truck was all it took to send the hedgehog bolting the other way.

A sonic boom rolled back down the road to the confused truck driver.

Once he started running, he... didn’t want to stop. He fisted his hands and let the wind pull his arms back as he _ran_. Eyes half lidded in contentment as the wind twined around him. Is this what, who he was, a sonic boom?

“Sonic…” The hedgehog gave a toothy grin. He liked that; he liked it a lot. So…yes, he was Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Could it just be as simple as that? ...Yes, yes it could and it was.

The Anthro picked up his feet, taking longer strides and trying to keep his soft feet from hitting the ground too hard. He needed shoes…but didn’t want to stop running just yet.

Sonic didn’t want to stop, but when he ran smack into a sign that had ‘25 MPH’ he kind of had to stop. Actually it was more like yipping, flailing midair and rolling until he hit a tree. Sprawled at the base of the truck, Sonic stared cross-eyed at the world while leaves drifted down from his not so kind crash mat in an attempt by the tree to bury him in revenge.

“Blood hell that hurt...” Sonic complained as his legs dropped over him, and he rolled over to change into a slightly better position of being sprawled on his front in the earth. The smell of grass cut the day before and leaves in every state was a much better lullaby than anything else could have been.

Or he just hit his head too hard, but Sonic didn’t noticed or mind when old but still strong arms lifted him up, and the elderly owner of the property half carried half dragged the anthro into a cabin.


	2. Someone that will return again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm probably going to be up-dating this here on Ao3 as I finish the chapters, but only here <3

Professor Charles sighed as the man eyed his guest bed, a fold out could bed. It was old and slightly lumpy yes, but at the same time it was easy to replace the mattress and the blankets repaired if any damaged came from the now slumbering form on it. The anthro was sprawled out at an angle and he was in a limp, almost boneless seeming sleep.

It had been a long time since the man had seen any anthro, and never this fart north. Not that he saw many people here at his second house, a cabin out in the middle of nowhere that he inherited years ago, it was between the California and Oregon border. The semi isolation was why the Professor liked it out here, the nearest village of Thatched was close enough to get supplies, but not so close to be easily bothered.

Most of the time.

The man was out here to write his next book. One of his adventures from his past in the jungles of one of the first Zones discovered. Recounting the dangers and wonder of those months, of exotic plants, animals and even people, human and anthro alike, the graceful beauties that loved painting skin, scale, feather and fur with bright colors at night to keep back the dark ness. Proud and tall warrior males that hunted or checked small patches of farmed earth away from the safety of protected villages.

The Guardians, the impossible reality of anthro’s with inhuman abilities from the raw strength to snap a tree in half. He recounted the roomers of speed or as some whispered those that could move this with their auroras and not look. The lines with a Guardian in them were known in that Zone by how an anthro’s fur was a different color then the normal. As an albino or a morph color.

Professor Charles leaned back in his chair, looking to his right where his notes and pictures where lauded out. He regarded the blue fur of his guest, and wondered a bit. Wishing that he hand another month in that Zone at least, or for another trip... 

Hm, maybe… just maybe he could go back on his own dime, with all the sales form his books it was possible. The grey eyed man had enough material to have tree books at any given time. 

After checking the hedgehog anthro over the man sat back down at his desk, looking over his notes to see where he had left off before going to investigate the crashing beyond his drive. He had the now rather sad looking and crumpled speed limit sign was resting in as much peace as it could on his front lawn.

“Ah,” Charles smiled as he re-read the last few lines. The he continued explaining what he would never forget.

Seeing the massive winged reptiles that some considered only myth. Of how they had and almost symbiotic relationship with the natives. While the intelligent creatures stood guard over a chosen village, the inhabitance in turned would care for the nest with either eggs or hatchlings inside. Of how he had been aloud, even if supervised, to see the priceless, treasured eggs where they rested in the center open hut of the village where everyone could be protective space. Charles remembered even now the feel of the leathery shells that were both soft and strong at the same time. About the width and size of a basketball, just more oval shaped.

It had been a thrill on its own, two hold and cradle a real live dragon egg. Though he was known to mean no harm, the Professor hadn’t been able to help a shiver as the mother lowered her head first to peer in. metal hard muscles rippling under brown scaly hide, her stripes seeming to ripple like stirred up leaf-cover.

The winged male had ducked his head inside, but to flick out a forked touch to playfully lick two of the shadowing youth. He had hopped away nimbly and had, surprisingly, played a game of tag with the village youth, fanning his wings now and then. The real shocker to the outsiders was the fearlessness displayed by the children as they had scrambled all over the dragon when he finally stretched out in the afternoon sun to dose, tolerantly letting them play on his form and under limp wings.

Professor Charles looked up at hearing a tapping on his window, drawn out gently, at least in comparison to the night before, from his work. A blue jay was peering in with the dawn light. It tapped its beak against the glass of the window, wanting in as much for the small bowl of bird seed as well as to get a pet as it had done almost every day for the past month. The man leaned over and after unlatching the window, spun the mechanism that opened the window.

The bird happily came in with four double hops, pausing to except the stroke of fingers over its back and wings before investigating the bow near the window.

Charles watch his ‘wild pet’ as ran a hand over one of his few personal features that the man took a good amount of pride in. The long, luxuriant pepper and salt mustache, it liked to twitch and bristle now and then on his upper lip when something interesting was happening or about to. Like it was doing right now.

The man turned as he picked up that a background sound of the not quiet snoring of the anthro. It didn’t seem to be any awake or waking up sounds that he knew of, and Charles had seen quite a few people over the years and the differing sleeping habits. Though there were some things that were if not the same then similar, and on the flip side sometimes you came across something you never seen. Or heard.

He chuckled softly, aware of the blue jay attempting to pull the pen out of his fingers, in retaliation he poked a wing with the pen. As the bird started a rather one sided ‘fight’ with the pen, Charles looked around his cabin, it was fairly open, with the fire place behind him warming the place. ‘L’ shaped the cabin seemed to be as old as he was, but also withstanding the weathering just as well if not better.

Pulling his lap top back into place, and letting the jay have the pen cap to add to his nest. The Professor started in explaining the legions behind the jungle dragons and Guardians, he slowly got reabsorbed in his writing and memories of not only that trip but a few others to reference.

Coming across a note for Fox Valley, the man paused to consider. That Zone was Oregon, and relatively speaking not that far away. Maybe he could go there for an interview, Fox Valley had a Guardian. One that matched the descriptions of those in the jungle Zone, maybe he would be willing to talk. When hunger penetrated his focus, and the Professor looked up to find it late afternoon instead of morning. 

“Ooohh, worked on this too long... need some food and get the blood flowing. What the?” Professor Charles had stood, stretched, waiting for the brief dizzy moment to pass before turning around.

The anthro was gone.

Taking a deep breath, Charles looked around the cabin. From around the couch bed to the other side of the fireplace. His bedroom, the pantry and laundry room proved empty of any blue furred anthro. The second door was unlocked like the ‘front door’ so the man walked out onto the covered deck, looking around. It had started to drizzle outside, and he walked alone the shelter of the wrap around porch that was covered as well. There were some foot prints, and a pair of shoes were missing from and outside rack, as well as a bag.

“I hope you can trust human sonny,” Professor Charles said looking up at the nearest of the many fruit and nut trees around his home. By the looks of it the earliest of the harvest was nipped. And Charles just couldn’t begrudge that or bag, and wished the anthro the best of luck as he watched the rain fall.

In the wet, the anthro in question was sighing, pulling his new backpack in with him into a long since abandoned barn. It was heavy full of apples and peaches, and a hand full of walnuts, but the thought that maybe Sonic would have been better off where he woke up didn’t even seem to click with him. It hadn’t been fear the drove him to leave, but this new odd, but welcoming instinct to move. 

Though unknowing, this wouldn’t be the last time Sonic would see Charles. Though they would more proper meet that time with the company of a nomad and lost kit.


	3. The path starts here

It looked so warm inside that little house as the anthro peered in through one of the darker windows. He was trying really hard not to feel like a stalker as he did so. But the fire that gave its warmth to those inside and spilled a soft squares of light outside had attracted Sonic like moth to flame.

 _No, it's more than just warm_ , Sonic thought, _it seems safe_.

In so many ways it was safe in there. Not just the fire but also the thick wall protecting them from the cold, almost biting winds outside... Alright it was like it was not that cold out here at this exact moment, but close enough with you were soaked through the fur. The small house and the inviting flames sheltering those that lived inside from the storm.

A storm that gave the impression that it wasn't done yet and had not yet released its full wrath on the land. Even though everything from ground house and the tops of trees were already soaking wet, including anthro hedgehogs. Sonic shivered, dark blue quills rattling against one another and the backpack sliding around a little as he did so, droplets of water found that they could fly again as they were shaken off.

Sonic's fur was sopping wet, despite however many times he shook himself. He would only be drenched again in a matter of what seemed like just seconds. The worst of it was that his shoes were soaked as well, squishing every time the anthro shifted his weight. Sonic had just discovered that he would rather tollgate wet fur for a while longer if it mean his feet were dry.

He pushed his nose to the bottom of small window again, looking in longingly at the family inside like a lost puppy. The fire that looked so warm, the promise of safety and shelter of the visible room, not to mention the food that looked so good. Even more so with his own nipped supplies. The anthro couldn't get in... Well he could, but even his odd life style kept Sonic from breaking into places.

He fisted his hands against the glass on either side and just below his head.

It wasn't fair!

How could they look so happy in there when he had to suffer out here? Why did he have to be so different from every other person on this world? If he was human like them he could knock on the door without that fear of being driven off yet again and not be yelled at, surely the father in there would let him stay. The mother would take care of his shivering self wouldn't she? Those kids would play with him, even if he was a bit older (not that he knew how old he was for that matter). They would share dinner with him, let him sleep in a warm bed.

Chaos, Sonic would even sleep on the floor if he had to, with a thick blanket and a soft pillow, instead of inside a fallen or hollowed out tree, or that cold barn behind him. Surely he could have all those wonderful things if he was a human too.

 _If I was human…?_ Sonic echoed the thought again, snapping out the self-pity mood brought on by the weather and being wet, ears flicking backup as he stood back, _Do I want to be limited to the restrictions of the human body?_

Sonic realized he couldn't just give up all that he could do. From being able to run as fast as he could now, to jumping as far as he could from a stand still let alone with a running start, or to feel the wind give way to _him_ , feeling the way it pass through his outer fur and quills. No longer able to hear that sonic boom when he pushed himself to full speed and then some?

Be unable to use his quills to defend, or attack, or cut though things?

Could he give up all that? Give up that pure, untainted, genuine feeling of sheer joy of running? To give up that sense of rightness he had when he pushed past the speed of sound, and trying to go just that much faster and farther...

His ears flattened back against his head, closed his deep, emerald green eyes and relaxed his hands.

"No." Sonic whispered to himself, he knew that he not only wouldn't but couldn't give any of that up to become human. Even if it meant he couldn't go into a house like this one and sit in the fires light all warm with a full stomach.

He opened his eyes and saw that one of the young girls was looking back at him. She tilted her head and be pure reaction Sonic cocked his head in the same direction, ears rotating up to attention. For a moment they just watched each other before the girl hopped up and ran out of sight, her father looking after her in confusion. Sonic ducked out of sight, starting off to the side to leave.

A brighter pool of light came, startling the anthro as well as blind him from the brighter inside lights. "Ahr…" he muttered, squinting and lifting a hand to shade his eyes.

"Hello?" The girl in the door way asked, one hand on the frame.

"Hi..." Sonic said back, stepping closer, but he paused seeing the slight pull back of the girl. The hedgehog smiled softly as he dropped down into a kneeling couch. Not that Sonic thought himself intimating by any means, but he was a spike-y and blue furred so... a little different.

"You have fur," The girl pointed out, tilting her head for a moment before pushing her red hair out of her face, "And wet."

"Yeah, I'm really wet." The hedgehog rand a hand through his quills, and once more was promptly soaked through again within a minute. "You should go back in kiddo, or you'll get wet too."

"Okay... but aren't you going inside too?" The girl asked, pushing at her bangs again as she looked worried at the anthro. To her child mind seeing not a mutant or anthro really, but something like in her bedtime stories or her favorite cartoon movies. Just come to life as the stories say. What if his was a lost prince of something?

"This isn't my place to go inside of." Sonic shrugged, then smiled as the rain started to come sideways now, "Don't worry princess, I still got some food and I can keep warm."

"I'm not a princess, I'm just Sally," the girl, Sally, tugged at her night shirt, she frowned almost delicately. "Don't you have a home?"

"Not like you and your family do here," The hedgehog stepped back to give himself a full body shake. He heard footsteps from inside, ears pricking, "Don't worry kiddo, I'll survive."

"Sally?" a man's deeper voice called, "What are you doing with the door open?"

"Daddy's there's a really wet talking animal- hey wait!" Sally turned back as Sonic stood back up and turned away as the girl pointed to him.

The air swirled and a deep, but not too loud, boom like sound was heard. Sounding like thunder after a too close lightning strike to the man and his other daughter. The rain was kicked up and scattered every which way, and it took a full half minute before it started to fall again.

The dark blue and brown hedgehog had fled before he could possibly be yelled at, and thus chased off. Although, perhaps, the anthro had taken off too soon this time. The big red haired and bearded man, Doctor Brian O'Connell stepped out into the rain with a flashlight in hand. His two daughters Sally and Lilly hovering in the windows, worriedly searched for the bedraggled looking hedgehog for a good twenty minutes after Sonic left.

Elsewhere, unaware of the chance missed, pale sneakers where a blur of motion as were his legs, his hands fisted again, mentally claiming it was against the wind, not from any fright. To any normal eye he was nothing more than a blue, or just dark against a darker background of the night time forest, a streak none the less that was zipping from one tree to another, searching for a dry haven.

It proved to be impossible in this storm. The rain was intensifying once more as Mother Nature was either crying or raging. Or both. So any hiding places that weren't already taken that would let Sonic fit soon be as wet as him. Those few spots that would always stay dry were too small for him to fit more than his head in.

He turned sharply to the left when he caught a glimpse of what looked like a road in the near dark. Maybe he'd have better luck finding a burrow or something else that he could use to out-wait the storm. He hated all this water and wanted out of it right now. He came onto the road at an angle. His pace had slowed considerably because of the cold wetness at this point.

"Come on," Sonic muttered, slowing down as he started to hydro plan on the road he just got on. He just spotted the outline of a low, but likely pine tree ahead and to his left, the kind that was smaller. Being so low to the ground and fluffed out it should be dry under there. A _lot_ of pine needles would have to be picked out of his fur in the morning, but it would dry, if not slightly warmer.

The single light cut through the night, not only blinding Sonic but the sheer lack of sound meant he was completely taken off guard. Wincing and lifting a hand in an attempt to save his eyes, the large humanoid hedgehog realized too late that the motorcycle couldn't swerve to avoid him, and neither could he.

Mind you, it wasn't like both parties didn't try their best, with Sonic jumping up and forward, and the motor cycle driver hitting brakes and jerking to the side. It was all in a vain effort.

Cold, smooth and rather hard metal was introduced into to Sonic's stomach and chest a split second before he was thrown into the driver. Knocking the leather clad human off as the motorcycle turned sideways.

Neither remember landing.

Sonic's fur seemed to be even more soaked then before, probably from the muddy ground where he was. The antrho hurting almost everywhere but not as much as points in the ribs. He wheezed and gargled from a punched lung, the male staring up into rain unblinkingly for a minute, or an eternity, before jerking as the remaining Chaos energy that was stored in his body reacted to his pain.

The road was lit only by a motor cycle's headlight, and that aimed away from the two living beings sprawled on the road. For a moment though, a second golden light formed in ribbons, wrapping around the hedgehog's chest and seeping in. He jerked and twitched, moving like he was having an episode, than arched and twisted around to his side and was almost all the way over before throwing up. What was left of an apple, the blood and another black fluid from his lunge was washed away by the rain after Sonic collapsed as the energy faded.

Then he melted into the darkness of the mind as Sonic fell unconscious, not knowing or caring at that moment if he would wake up again.


	4. In the Rain

"...ow..." A woman's voice groaned from where she was laying on her back. The woman was stiff and what she was laying on was even stiffer and harder, so it wasn't her bed, or her living room, or her workshop. The fact she still had her helmet on too also said that she wasn't home. "Ow..." She added as the throbbing of her left shoulder penetrated the fog of her mind first from the outside world.

The rest of her senses soon bled back into her awareness. She was cold from being soaking wet, but not to the point where her body wasn't trying to shiver so that was good. Carefully she flexed her fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, and other joints one at a time, though the left arm wasn't responding overly well. Though very stiff and uncomfortable there was not stabbing pain or throb of broken bones for the rest of her body. Maybe a sprained joint or two and a mass amount of bruising along her left and back side (and her backside- ow!), but that was a hazard of crashing when on a motorcycle, even when she hadn't been going over 25 mph.

Wait.

Crash?

Carefully, Jessica- Jessy as she preferred to be called, pushed her shoulder blades up, tried to the left side wasn't working as well still, and arched her back the littlest bits. Testing to be sure she could move her spine, and neck the old fashion way without blacking out or kicking the bucket. Those all important things didn't seem to be broken. Once that was done she reached up and felt around her helmet with her good arm, squinting as she turned the inside display back on. Even with a crack in the visor she could still read the date and time.

"Chaos... over three hours?" Jessy muttered looking at the time and date. It was now almost two-am. The date was still, reality, the same so that was good. "Comp, vitals..." She gasped out as she attempted to roll over, getting it on the second try. One hand whipping some of the mud off her chest, but only smeared it more.

"Damn it..." She muttered, this was her favorite riding jacket too. Though, even without the mud it was going to be a while to wear it again, as the sheep skin inside was holding water like it normally held heat. No wonder she was so cold.

The woman twitched and gritting her teeth as she felt a buzzing through her whole body. It stung but didn't hurt too bad, not with the rest of her frame throbbing in time with either her heart or the rain. Inside her helmet, maybe the only semi dry part of her, a female humanoid display came up, just to the right side of the front. Several places on the wire frame where yellow, the worst of her aches along the left, chest, back and one spot flashed red.

Ah, that's why she couldn't move her left arm very well, at all.

With the task of rolling over accomplished, Jessy slowly sat up, ready to rip off her helmet if she felt any nausea, but the scan proved true in that she didn't have a concussion. That didn't make getting up with one arm any easier but at least she wasn't about to throw up in her helmet.

"Stats," Jessy crocked out next as she wavered for a moment, spotting the headlight of her ride down the road a bit. She took slow steps to the side of the road as the human wireframe vanished and in its place a wire frame of the motorcycle came up. There was a pause as the computer in her helmet linked up to the one in the bike before the display lit up with colors and readings.

Mostly everything was blue, green and few spots of yellow. Nothing that she couldn't fix, though it would eat all the time she had saved at first by finishing it early. It was a good thing Jessy hadn't called the costumer to tell him his motor cycle was done after all. Maybe if it was just paint and a few dents she could still get the early bonus...

Thoughts on that subject paused, shunted aside as the woman growled to herself, now standing by one of the trees. She found a spot and wedged her arm in the dip, then with a yelped and bit out half formed curse she jerked her arm.

"Bloody hell- OW!" Jessy whined as she flexed her fingers, abandoning any 'bad ass bicker chick' image that may or may not have been there; to bounce and spun in a cercal from the pain of forcing the dislocated joint back into place. "Owowowow-bloodyOW!" She bounced on the balls off her feet before pressing her back against the tree, breathing heavy and shallow, but Jessy struggled to control her breathing through the new flare of pain.

The mechanic stared at the soft glow of the wireframe-bike on the inside of her helmet, waiting out the pain until it was down to a throb instead of spikes through the joint. She watched the time tick away, and after ten minutes of zoning out Jessy remembered where her power-stone stash was. Those could be used as painkiller and healing aid, something that would be very helpful.

Jessy carefully rolled her shoulders as she pushed off the tree, easing back to the road with about the same slow pace from before. With the adrenalin flowing again, and being wide awake, Jessy spotted the other form sprawled on the ground not far from where she had been.

Her heart sunk so far it felt like it hit her bladder.

Almost nub with fear, Jessy stumbled over, the closer she got the clearer the dark outline was. She dropped down to her knees and rolled the furry form over, checking for dips in the rib cage or for open wounds. The mechanic pulled her gloves off and lifted the anthros head up, angling it away from the flooding road. Pausing for a moment the woman pressed her free hand down to the ground, staring.

"Comp, full nocturnal enhancement," she ordered the computer in her helmet, there was a soft whine somewhere behind her left ear, then the visor lit up on the inside. The bike display vanished as everything was highlighted with soft golden lines. Jessy looked around then back at her hand, where the water was rising up to her wrist. "Crap, it is flooding. Okay dude, you're breathing so I'm getting you out of here-OW!"

Jessy jerked her right hand back, hissing at the new sting of pain across her palm, having just tried to lift the rare anthro up off the ground by putting her hand under his back.

"Chaos and the North Winds, what the hell do you have on you?" She demanded of the unconscious form, flexing her hand and watched blood ooze out of the, thankfully light cutes. "Damnet, I need to fix bikes this weekend... right, flooding. Very bad. Okay Jessy, think. Out cold Anthro that you ran over. We're in a flooding area… Comp, maps, stats on Lumar Road." She paused to check the only road up to her house, and cringed at the report the computer got from online.

The way home was already flooded, by two feet at last report a half an hour ago. Had she been at home there wouldn't be a problem, as she was fully stalked up and had three motorcycles to work on, not to mention her own generator. But she was on the wrong side of flooding.

"Um, contacts... contacts... Comp, display Red O'Connell's address." Jessy ordered as she set the anthro down to pull on her gloves. "Don't you dare rollover buddy," She added to him as she stood, slashing through the water to the motorcycle, the light was still on and from the link up it should still run. Lifting it was harder than normal with a stiffening left shoulder. Jessy pushed it over to the anthro, reading the transparent map to her uncle's, who wasn't too far away. Plus, he was up on a hill.

Jessy kicked down the supports to keep the bike upright before kneeling back beside the anthro. Wondering just how she was going to do this. The thought of leaving him didn't even occur to the woman. Her upbringing and deeply ingrained Clan morals were demanding, more like ordering, that she do everything in her power to help the anthro. Funny how that voice in the back of her head sounded like Jessy's father.

"Sorry about this buddy, but Red's a vet, and probably knows more about anthros then some of the hospital doctors this far up north." Jessy said, and cringing internally started to unfasten then unzip her leather jacket. "This isn't going to be very graceful leather, you're skinny as a twig but you're nearly my height."

Jessy had her jacket over her one shoulder, and reached out to grasp the anthro's wrists, standing over him with his legs between hers she pulled back and up. Getting the limp hedgehog into a sitting position. She grabbed at one of his shoulders and dropped down to her knees over him, letting the dark furred anthro lean against her front as she pulled the jacked over him, flatting the possible deadly quills down doing so. Zipping the jacket up was hard enough but Jessy tied the sleeves in the back, synching the lower strap as far as it would go to keep the jacket in place.

Taking a deep breath, Jessy shifted, trying to get leverage but settling for sheer strength as she locked her arms around the anthro and lifted him up.

"Good gods, you are skin and bones and still heavy." Jessy complained as she man handled the anthro over to the motorcycle, getting his torso balanced on the handle bars first. Then she had to get on long leg over the bike and not drop him. By the time the hedgehog anthro onto the bike, Jessy was gasping, sore all over again and her left shoulder had increased from a throb back to spikes again.

Drawing on the pure stubbornness that came with being apart of her nomadic clan (ironically called the Storm Runners), was the only thing that seemed to let Jessy start the motorcycle and keep one arm locked around the anthro to keep him from falling off.

The water was already up to her ankles when they left, and kept rising until Jessy found the hill up to Red's house. It was more than a tense ride, lasting forever and only fifteen, maybe twenty minutes.

This time when pulling up to her Uncle's clinic, she went around back to the house, right up to the door and pulled her helmet off. "Red!" Jessy yelled, bellowed out at loud as she could, reaching for the door and when it was lock she hit it with her helmet, "Red! Red! Wake up! I's Jessy- the wrench welder!" She added, remembering that her name was fairly comment in their family. "RED! There's been an accident! Wake the hell up!" She abused the door with her helmet with each word.

When it was flung open from the inside, Jessy over balanced and dropped, grunting as the anthro fell on top of her. She stared at the slipper covered feet in front of her, "I need help." She informed slippers as she hissed in pain.

"Chaos- Jessy! What in the world happened!?" The big, red haired and bearded man demanded as he carefully lifted the still limp and out cold hedgehog bundle off his niece.

"Ran 'em over, dislocated my should- ow- watch those quills, an' flooding." Jessy attempted to explain as she crawled in after her Uncle, rolling over to kick the door close before taking a moment to enjoy being inside at last. The mud room was starting to live up to its name with her sprawled in it, though not large it was big enough to have not only a washer and drier on the left but some shelves to the right. With the motorcycle in under the overhang porch, so she wasn't even going to worry about that. Shivering, Jessy rolled over and pulled both her sweater and sensor shirt off as her uncle left to bring the anthro into his clinic. The mechanic got boots off fallowed by her jeans and the sensor 'tights', then finally sitting up she reached up and pulled down the drier's door, fishing in there to pull out one of her uncle's shirts to up on.

"Jessy?" Red's voice drifted over.

"I'm good, take care of him if ya' can." Jessy called back as she pulled out a towel to wrap around her head, getting a second to wipe the rest of her off before grapping one of Red's longer coats as she came into the house, bounce on one foot then another to pull on socks. She fallowed the light and sound into the clinic where her uncle was, with his eldest son and assistant. She took a brief moment to morn her favorite riding jacket that had been tossed almost carelessly aside before focusing on the two men.

"By the wind gods, what happened Jessy?" Red asked, looking up from where he was examining the anthro. Though all three knew perfectly well the poor thing wasn't an animal, the sad fact was that with anthro's rare enough here in the Old Word, and more so this far up north, the vet was the best option at the moment. To get to the nearest hospitals that would take in an anthro, let alone was able treat one were a good day or two drive to get to. Not to mention with the flooding this little community would be semi isolated for at least a week or two.

"I was stupid," Jessy admitted, rubbing her eyes before heading to one of the sinks in this large back area of the clinic, she reached for disinfectant as she turned on the water, "I could sleep earlier, so I was working in the shop, and decided to test drive the bike I finished. It wasn't raining as bad then. When it started to pick up I turned to head home and then this guy popped out of nowhere from the dark… I hit him- he knocked me off. I dislocated my shoulder and was knocked out for three hours...ish. Hey, watch out for those spiky thingies, their sharp," Jessy held up her right, currently pink hand and displayed the cuts on the palm.

"Doesn't seem like he broke ribs…" Red stood up after finishing checking the anthro's legs, "surprising… what about you?"

"Not sure," Jessy shrugged, "Don't think so, doesn't feel like it, I wasn't going too fast. Thanks Jacob." She added as her cosine stepped over to check her hand.

"Doesn't look like you need stiches but it's still going to need to be wrapped up." Jacob said, the young man was about Jessy's age. Around 25, and though he didn't have his father's broad chest and shoulders, the young man had just as bright red hair, friendly smile but his mother's blue eyes. "We need to get you warmed up too, you're freezing Jessica."

"Being conked out in a flooding road tends to make one hypothermic," Jessy said with a shaky smile, looking over at the anthro, and arched an eyebrow despite herself as she noticed something now that they were in the light. Even under the mud and being plastered down, Jessy commented ever so brilliantly, "Dude, he's blue."


	5. Nice warm bed

When Sonic awoke, he was aware of a few things. The nicest of the lot was that he was warm all over, ear tips to toes and everything in-between. He wiggled some and then stopped when it became apparent that it was a bad idea to do so. Well over half of his body, mostly his stomach and the whole of his right side hurt. After a wee bit of wiggling Sonic was relieved to find that although several of his ribs were more than likely cracked, they thankfully weren't broken in the worst way. He could thank not only his own anthro body for that, since even despite his malnutrition it was still denser than a normal human. As well as the lingering Chaos energy in his frame.

It took a few minutes for Sonic to register, as he struggled to be back into the land of the fully conscious, that there was something heavy, yet soft, on top of him. It was a large yellow and tan comforter. He turned his head and found that there was a pillow of the sane pattern under his head as well. His quills where fattened against his back and the bed, but it wasn't uncomfortable, nor that his chest was wrapped.

Sonic was in a semi-dark room, cloud filtered light came in through two windows. Though some rain was drizzling on the glass, but nowhere near the intensity of what it had been like before (not that Sonic was sure how long he had been out, it could have been hours or days), it was slowly getting brighter from false dawn to true morning.

Sighing, the anthro debated on around to see what he could other than where his head was tilted to the left, he was in a large queen size bed. The room was light, being painted a golden yellow with...plants here and there growing on the walls? There was a dresser over towards the foot of his bed. The glitter of crystal caught his eye but there was no temptation to investigate right now.

Sonic carefully shifted so he could pull the comforter up to his muzzle, green eyes peering unfamiliar plants, wondering where he was and if he had died and gone to heaven. If he did it wasn't so bad, if heaven had such a comfortable bed. When he became use to the room (and realized that some of the plaints were paintings) he tried to remember what happened, but couldn't remember much. He had found a house then ran when he had been spotted by the adult man. There had a sudden bright light as he was jogging, looking for a hollow.

Nothing.

No... He remembered the colors, they had been soft and glowing in an interesting way in front of his slumped form (was he tied up?). He remembered liking those at least, but then what? He was here. He didn't know how he'd gotten here. Or where here was for that matter, but he wasn't complaining too much. Though Sonic could really use some food, all things considering it was nice and warm, and dry, and warm, and seemed safe enough. And it was _warm!_

...he was getting sick of being cold and out in the elements if you couldn't guess.

"Mmm..." Sonic wriggled his toes and tried to get deeper into the bed without tarring any scabs or, you know, breath too deeply. He liked this, he liked this a lot really. The hedgehog was starting to dozed off when there came a soft giggle to his left.

Dark blue ears pricked up out of the space between the comforter and pillow at the sound, then one rotated like a radar dish to fallow and aim at the sound as there was another giggle. There was a pause before the other ear flicked. After another giggle, the ear twitched deliberately three times, then twice as they identified two separate young voices.

Slowly, carefully, Sonic reached out with his left arm. Stretching it out as far as he could before lifting the comforter up enough to just be able to look out between the small opening. After a moment a small set of blue eyes peered in, and two small hands lifted the blanket a little more for both young girls to peer back at Sonic as the hedgehog tried not to shiver at the small shot of cooler air that came in.

"Hi..." a shy voice spoke up, red bangs falling into the faces of both girls.

"Hi there," Sonic smiled, a soft half purr escaping him. As leery as he was with humans, he could never quiet felt the same way with the kids. Most of the time they were too innocent to know that animosity aimed at anthros. The hedgehog frowned as he looked at the girls, twins by the nearly identical features they had, though one had blue eyes the other green. Had he met them before... Sally! From last night (was it last night or more then one night?) and that sister he had glimpsed.

The other girl spoke up "I'm Lilly, this is my sister Sally. Daddy says your hurt so you shouldn't move okay?"

"I wasn't planning on moving." Sonic admitted and assured as he blink, then again as the blanket was put back down. Ears pricked again, he winced as he pushed the comfertor down, the new if still flittered light of dawn.

The girls ran over to where a padded chair had been dragged into. The red fabric was out of place to the spring yellow and green theme of the rest of the room. Sitting in the chair, reclined back and with thick wool, sock-covered feet propped up on the side of the bed Sonic was in. Someone had tossed the throw blanket off the bed onto her at some point, it matched the comforter. It didn't cover up that her left arm that was in a sling, and the other was tossed over her face too keep the morning sun out of her eyes.

The woman stirred as the girls pestered her into waking up, "Aunt Jessy! Aunt Jessy, he's up! He's up, up, _up!_ "

Jessy stirred and snorted, wincing against the light much as the Anthro had just done as she lifted her right arm, "What? Okay, okay I'm up girls….no I'm not, hang on."

She yawned hugely, her whole frame shifting and then stretched. Lifting her left arm a bit and the right reaching out into open space before tucking behind her head. Jessy looked over at the anthro in the bed that was watching her far more carefully then he had the two younger girls. For a long few moments nothing happened as blue eyes met clear green.

"Hi," Jessy said around a much smaller yawn.

"...hi." the hedgehog said back. One ear flicking but the other curved forward in interest. "I'm Sonic. I think I was run over." He said, using shallow breaths, anything deeper hurt too much.

"I'm Jessy," The mechanic gave Sonic a lazy two finger salute with a bandaged hand, "I ran you over."

Sonic blinked. Twice.

Strangely, despite most of his interactions with adult humans thus far in his short, _remembered_ life, Sonic found himself smiling. As for some impossible reason, Sonic realized that he just suddenly liked this woman. "Thanks so much," he said dryly.

"No problem," Jessy said, matching his tone and arching an eyebrow, "You did manage to yank my arm out of it's socket so... tie?"

"Um, sure?" Sonic blinked a few times again before looking around. "Where am I?"

"Theisa Washington," Jessy fought back another yawn as she sat up slowly, pulling her feet off the bed and tilted the recliner back upright. "Currently in one of my Uncle Red's guestrooms."

Sonic glanced at the hair of the girl's at the mention of red before looking back to Jessy.

"We're not going to hurt you." Jessy assured, careful to keep her voice low and as non-threatening as possible, having seen the not so subtle look the anthro hedgehog was giving her. Estimating.

" _You_ ran me over."

" _You_ ran out into the middle of a dark road in front of me."

"…good point."

"Here," Jessy rose stiffly, from having slept in and odd position from her normal. She spotted the two covered bowls on the dresser that her technically young cosines brought in (though considering the age difference it was a bit easier to let them call her their aunt), "Why don't you sit up? We got some food for you, let's get that in you before we do anything. I'll even leave if it would make you feel better…?"

"Food?" Sonic tipped his ears up again and sniffed, smelling something good now that his nose was out of the blanket. This human couldn't be _so_ bad if it- she, was offering him something to eat.

"Cha," The human nodded, "Here," She added coming over and carefully pulled the comforter off the hedgehog, without touching him and with her good arm.

Sonic slowly sat up, wincing as he pulled something that shouldn't have been pulled. He watched the human as it, no, he corrected himself firmly, as _she_ went over to the dresser and picked up a tan bowl and a spoon. The two girls were shooed out of the room by the door behind the red chair, but his black nose twitched, inhaling the smell of whatever was in the dish.

His stomach gave a loud growl.

"Snt." The woman swallowed a laugh and handed the bowl over to Sonic's eager hands. He didn't bother with the spoon and sipped at the broth instead. When he found that it wasn't too hot, just warm and had a rich, slightly salty tang, Sonic he started to gulp it down barely chewing the soft noodles, celery, carrots and bits of meat. At least, he did that until he got a scolding to slow down before he choked. Sonic did slow down, but didn't stop until he licked the blow clean of every drop of the chicken noodle soup.

"And I thought me and my bothers ate fast." The comment reminded Sonic of the human that was now sitting on the end of the bed. He looked up and tilted his head to the side, taking his first real look at her. His emerald gaze had only a hint of wariness in it, but it was obvious that he was curious about her.

The woman wasn't that much taller than him, maybe a half a head taller if that. She had short brown hair, a loose black and white t-shirt with some car emblem on it, and a pair of to-big gray sweatpants. Her feet were crossed where she was leaning on the bed post, though she had a strong, but not a very large build under the loose cloths, showing that she was physically active; Sonic noted something he hadn't before. At the neck, on the left side where the dark copper skin was visible there and on the left arm where the sling wasn't covering, it was discolored in bruising.

Than Sonic remembered, a flash of memory inserting itself back into place. Of failing to jump in time, of not just hitting the turning motorcycle but impacting against the rider and taking her off with his momentum.

_Ouch._

"Would you like some more?" Jessy asked nodding at the bowl Sonic had yet to release.

"Can I?" He asked glancing down at the empty dish, coming back to the here and now.

"Of course," She held out her hand and the hedgehog handed her the bowl, watching as Jessy stiffly turned to grab the bowl that had been meant for her. She gave that to him and left only to return less then a minute latter with more soup, having met Red just out of sight of the door, whispering a warning for him to stay back for now..

"Sonic!" The indigo hedgehog said on his third bowl as he slurped up the last of the broth off his thumb. By now convinced that this human at least didn't have any intentions of hurting him. It's funny how a full belly could change your first opinion of someone.

"Eh?" The woman blinked over at him, pausing from sipping at her own bowl of soup.

"My name," Sonic said looking up, "It's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." He stuck his hand out, ignoring the discomfort in his side and forearm as he did so.

"Jessica Binger." Jessy said taking the offered her good hand after setting the bowl aside just as carefully and shaking it. She smiled as she saw that the anthro kept his grip loose as he spotted the banges on her hand again, "Call my Jessy, everyone does, and I like it better. It's nice to meet you Sonic."

Sonic tilted his head again thinking, "Where am I again?"

"At my Uncle's. Since you had an intimate, yet nasty introduction with the front end of my motorcycle." The woman said wincing again. "I brought you back here, there isn't a clinic anywhere nearby that takes anthros in-"

"I'm a hedgehog." Sonic frowned.

"You're also an anthro."

"Am not."

"Do you even know what an Anthro is?" Jessy raised an eyebrow.

"Errr…" Sonic paused as he really thought about it, he'd been called that a few times by humans but no one would stop screaming or sometimes throwing stuff to explain.

"Didn't think so." The woman said taking the empty dish from Sonic's lax fingers, "An anthro is an intelligent, humanoid being, primarily animal like here. Though I heard of some plant types farther south in the rainforests."

"Huh." Sonic lifted his hands, looking them over then eyeing Jessy's. He didn't see much of a difference between them other than he had fur and small claws and she didn't. He shrugged it off then yawned hugely, sleepy once again with a belly that was full.

"Go back to sleep, you need it." Jessy said getting up and headed for the door, "I'm going to be just outside in the living room with my uncle, I'll leave the doors open so if you need anything just yell."

"Hey Jessy?" Sonic called before she could leave.

"Yeah?"

"Umm… Where's the toilet?"


	6. One, Two, Take your first steps

"We... are a couple of gimps." Jessy spoke up from where she was staring at the ceiling. Thinking of the fallowing ten to twelve weeks, and knowing that her shoulder would be hurting off and on until it healed from that lovely dislocated session.

Blue ears twitched, flicked up and one rotated to aim at the woman's voice, the other angling down as best it can as Sonic split his focus to check that Sally and Lilly were still napping beside him on the floor and the really old but clean fluffy carpet. The anthro yawned widely and carefully stretched what he could of his frame without stressing his healing body. "Yeah… but it's warm." Sonic paused to consider something before adding with a pleased sigh, "And dry."

"True," The woman shifted and then resumed her professional slouching, slumped in the big red lazyboy chair. With the foot rest propped up and the back reclined she was almost swallowed by the chair as she stared with unfocused eyes at the rain of this latest winter storm out the window.

With the fireplace to her right, dimmed to low flames and coals. There was a half full bag of marshmallows on the carpet in the front of fireplace, metal camping roasting sticks were on the tiles along with half open chocolate bars, a packet of gram crackers, hotdogs, buns and a metal bowl of chili that had been placed in the coals to warm up. There was some brown sugar and a layer of shredded cheese melting on the chili too.

"Well, at least your ribs are only cracked, not broken. They should be completely fine in a few odd months. Two to, two and half at max, that's what Red said before." Jessy spoke up again, so not to think about dinner yet, she considered something and then added, "I might be able to get my hands on a few power stones that are stronger than this," The mechanic slipper her fingers under sling, shirt and a light wrappings for the cuts and scrapes to pull out a fifty cent sized and shape stone.

It was semi flat, and had a polished like shine to it. The stone was a mixed colored thing, at first Sonic thought it was reflecting the firelight, but as Jessy flipped it to him, Sonic could see that the thing was dark orange around the edges, and paling to yellow in the middle. It gave an eerie impression of a cat like eye.

For some reason Sonic couldn't explain, the stone in his fingers was familiar enough that a hazy image came to mind. Of see that 'coin' doubled, wide and frightened eyes star back at him from behind a glittering field of transparent silver...

Sonic blinked, and the odd image flickered in his mind's eye. Was that something he imagined? A daydream with bad timing thanks to the painkillers he was one?

...but no... Sonic was sure it was one of those few elusive memories from before the Roadway and the Truck.

Jessy was talking again, and Sonic let the last few seconds bleed back in to his consciousness.

"That one isn't that strong, but it powers the x-ray machine for the clinic." Jessy motioned in the general direction of the back medical rooms for the vet clinic. Sonic had been there a couple of times in the last week, though he didn't seem to mind. Or be insulted (shrugging apologies off and commenting it made sense, since he very well me the only anthro around for miles).

"Why did you have this in your sling?" Sonic asked, an ear twitching as the twins shifted in their sleep. The chance at a nap for himself gone that's to that memory-flash. Maybe he should star writing these down or something like that, given how fragile some of those snippets seamed (he remembered one that had sun and peaches, but nothing more than that even though he knew there was more...).

"It's sort of a cheap way to speed up healing. More so when you can't get to, or afford to go to a big hospital and their advanced tech. Like the tissue regrowth stuff, and bone netting over brakes to hold things together." Jessy explained, glancing to the side as she debated if getting up to get the food was worth the struggle of getting up and out of the too comfortable seat. "Power stones are all over now, something that happened in world war three. Most common are the coins, that size you got, they can power most 'little' things before needing to be recharged in the sun.

"Huh..." Sonic flipped the 'coin' around on his fingers, and then balanced it on just one, he could feel his bandages along his sides, and front moving with each careful breath. His ears flicked back for a moment remembering the 'big breath' time was coming to keep his ribcage flex able and lunges from collapsing in any way. Sonic fallow those instructions from Red very carefully, not wanting any impediments to those valuable organs. He was a Runner after all, and didn't want to think of what running would be like if his already large lunges were diminished.

He almost shuddered, not wanting to think having crippled lunges would do at his top spead.

"...hey," Jessy said after a few quiet minutes of watching the anthro stay intently focused on the coin stone he was balancing.

Sonic looked up, one ear kilted to the side, and without looking directly he flipped the coin up to catch and then tossed it back to Jessy. "Hey..." he said back.

"What is it?" The woman asked gently, picking up that there was something bothering the anthro.

"It's just…" Sonic frowned, thinking of the coin bright eyes again, and the hazy image of the feline they belonged to. "I can't remember really…anything beyond a month, maybe two ago." The hedgehog finally blurted out, "Every time I do get something, its like a flash, and completely random. And even those start to fade again like… like I can't hang onto them. It's been happening ever since I woke up after the Truck and that one place with the fruit trees and the human with the…." Sonic paused and made a motion with one hand over his face, the upper lip and down. "Whiskers?"

"Beard? Mustache?" Jessy offered.

"Right, that second one." Sonic nodded, he paused to look down at the girls, Sally snuggled against his fur in a motion of pure, sleepy innocence. Sonic melted in turn, relaxing fully again back into his peace from before.

"What happened to you Sonic?" Jessy asked, her voice still soft. Despite herself, and knowing that the anthro wasn't family, she couldn't help be feel drawn and treated Sonic just like one of her many younger brothers when they had gotten into trouble, or thought they did, and was trying to get them to admit what happened in order to help them.

"That's just it, I don't remember." Sonic half a half rumble in his chest, but it was light, not a growl or a purr. "That last thing I know for sure I was waking up on a road, I'm not sure where. There was this big truck, and then I just _ran._ But I can't remember anything more than that. At least not before the truck… so I named myself."

Jessy arched an eyebrow, "Named yourself?" she echoed with a smile.

"What's wrong with that?" Sonic demanded, one ear folding back the other angled to the side, "You did too, Jessy."

"Jessy instead of Jessica," the woman nodded, not disagreeing at all. She tilted her head, "So you don't remember anything?"

"Not really… There's these flashes now and then when I see or smell something," The hedgehog sunk lower for a moment then sat back up as much as he dared so not to wake the girls. "What I do get, after a while seems to fade again…" He sighed, picking at the carpet.

The anthro jumped as something bounced off his head, both ears stood up on end as he gave the pencil a look like it was about to bite him and looked up in time to just be able to catch the pad that was flying in the air at him. Sonic fumbled and stared before looking over it at the grinning Jessy. The woman was folding some of the lined papers she'd ripped out and stuffed them into the sling.

"Here, I tend to forget part numbers a lot, so I have a bunch of these booklets back home." Jessy said, then added in that same tone she used with her brothers again, "Don't force it, I don't know much about those things with the mind but I know you should never force things."

Sonic looked at the flip pad in his hand and smiled, "I was thinking of finding something to write stuff down on a little while ago."

"I'm a big sister and third oldest in my lot of siblings," Jessy grinned at Sonic, getting a smile back, "I know how to be prepared for the random stuff."

"Random stuff eh?" Sonic asked as he fiddled with the pencil.

"Ohh yeah," Jessy grinned, "You should see some of the stuff my little brothers do, they are insane to no end. Feel sorry for my little sister though, we're the only two girls in eight."

"Eight?" Baffled at the number Sonic looked up from writing a few lines of, ' _Coin bright eyes behind a rainbow shine, and scared,_ '

" _Eight?_ " he asked again, both ears pricked up high.

"Two sets of twins tends to rack up the numbers, if I know my mom, and I do, she wants one more girl- that's girly- to fuss over." Jessy rolled her eyes, "I think she also wants to be the next matriarch of the family, at least on the nomadic side... or both sides."

"Nomadic side?" The hedgehog blinked, then became interested as he had been very nomadic himself for the last two months. At first from no choice that he could tell, and then just liking moving around. Sonic didn't like the rain that much though.

"Yeah, I'm actually apart of the Nomadic Nations," The woman sat up more in her chair, then relaxed back after that, just shifting her bad shoulder to relive a twinge. "On my father's side, so I can actually wander to nearly any country I want."

"Have you?" Sonic tilted his head. "Gone to other countries that is."

"A few, and a few Zones over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I started to get the itch from the curse," Jessy grinned and wiggling her fingers at the anthro as he took a moment to rub an ear.

"Itch?" Sonic paused in his ear scratching as he became aware of doing it.

"Yeah," The woman chuckled at his subconscious reaction and then looked over to the side as Red was walking in from the veterinary clinic. "Hey Red, you guys got my truck?"

"Yep, and your bike in the bed," The big man smiled, catching the coin as it was tossed at him, tucking it into a pocket and then Red helped Jessy up to her feet. "And the other routes to your house are still washed out, but expect a horde of messages and constant calls."

"I expected as much, thus why I live on a hill above a flood zone so I can get some peace and quiet while," Jessy snicker, watching as Red freed Sonic of his heat leaches, putting Sally on the couch and tucking her in to finish her nap.

Sonic rose stiffly to his knees to put Lilly there as well, but had to be helped up himself. The hedgehog wheezed, but it was normal, and with the girls asleep they moved to the clinic. "Thank you Red, for everything."

"Everyone needs help." The big man said, helping support the anthro, "Besides, its family honor on the line! I would have helped you before if you had stayed instead of running off." Red smiled down at the shocked look in the wide, almost innocent green eyes.

Sonic might have rocked on his heels, but he was being held, and Jessy wasn't far behind him. "Wait... that was here?" Sonic looked back at the living room, seeing the couch, that rug in front of the fireplace... the fire place!

The man nodded, helping Sonic to lean on a wall in the clinic to fetch three small bottles, "Yes, though I didn't see you, just your tracks, but from what Sally described, and seeing you when Jessy hauled you into my pantry, I guess that was you in the rain the other week." Red helped Sonic to the front of the clinic and the waiting pick up there.

"Now you're not in the rain anymore." The woman said, Jessy grinned as she flopped a hand on Sonic's head, the on the safe place that is, right between his ears and ruffled the fur there. "I gave you my word that you can stay under my roof while you heal. I was the one you over."

"Yeah, but I was an idiot that didn't look both ways before crossing the road." Sonic looked up slightly to meet Jessy's eyes. The truthful threads but still willing to joke and tease about it...

An unspoken, but soon to be solid bond between the two started in that instant. Born of shared pain and kindness to be strengthened in healing time in a small apartment over a motorcycle repair workshop.


	7. Three, four, learn your lore

The large blue hedgehog sighed and fidgeted on the couch, the TV show no longer able to keep his wondering attention. Though the adventures of those crime fighting turtles normally did as well as the nature channels normally. Sonic sighed turned it off with the remote and shifted around on his comfy couch, scanning across the room to first try and find something amusing, then looking at the open kitchen to his left to see if Jessy was still there.

She wasn't, having left sometime with the heroes had been looking for the hidden valley to save the people.

Sonic's shoulders slumped and he let out a long sigh, the constant dull ache in his ribs spiking but not as bad any more. Jessy had gone one a hunt as soon as they arrived here a week ago. Scouring her home for Coins that powered her tools, appliances and lights. Trying to find the ones that weren't critical and of the right size that could be spared. Even hiking over to her nahbor on the hill to get some from him. The little power stones helped immensely with the pain of both their injuries, Jessy was able to lift her tools and some weight now, while most of the time Sonic's own breathing exercises were getting easier with each passing day by noticeable degrees. Small, but faster than it would normally be healing from broken ribs.

Sonic carefully rose, with the intent of poking his nose everywhere he could. Starting with the kitchen, he circled the counter that made the corner a half room, and then quick hands grabbled one of the green and purple spotted fruits that came from the nearby Zone. Jessy had gotten a few crates full to help with Sonic constant need of munchies while healing. As an added bonus the fruits had something in then that Sonic had been craving for a long time and only after eating one crate in two days had he seemed to be mostly sated but still grabbed a fruit as seen as it ripened on the counter.

Green eyes looked around the more flat like home again, peeking out the door into the covered deck beside the kitchen, but finding it raining again the hedgehog quickly pulled back in and closed the door. Still not fully sure of his own intense dislike of storms, Sonic peeked into the bedroom and office Jessy had, but the door was open all the way, not stopped halfway on the carpet that was only in the bedroom, so she wasn't there.

The bathroom was wide open and the pantry wouldn't easily hide the woman, Jessy was about five inches taller than Sonic after all. The Anthro yawned and then sighed again, he was board and wanted to do something, anything! He didn't want to sit on his tail all day anymore, despite waking up that morning and wanting nothing more than to go to sleep for the next week thanks to his ribs and winter instincts to hibernate. With a half groan Sonic slumped against the back of the couch as if he could melt into it.

The hedgehog's left ear twitched suddenly as it caught a _new_ _sound_.

Two quick _pisht pisssht_ , the ear tipped forward, quickly followed by the other. Both ears twitch and turned for a moment before the source of the sound was found. Sonic lifted his head, looking at the inside staircase that led down to the workshop on the first level. He frowned, what did Jessy do down there anyways?

Curious now, Sonic got up again- pausing only long enough to check and see that he wasn't leaving behind any quills that could poke not only Jessy, but him too. Then he made his way down the inside stairs over by the front door, the new sound didn't go away, just became clearer. It changed a little, or stopped for a second, only to start up again but it didn't go away. The blue and brown hedgehog poked his head through the gap between the second story floor and the railing once there was room, ears up. He promptly sneezed once, twice as he got a face full of some rank smelling fume.

The Anthro ducked back into the relative safety of the upper staircase, when he was done coughing Sonic cautiously came back down again. Trying not to breathe to deeply, or more than his current normal 'deep' breath, he looked around and spotted Jessy by the open garage door. She was dressed in an old, oil and paint stained coverall, tan work boots, had a pair of yellow goggles on and what looked like a gas mask covering the lower part of her face. She had some kind of small machine beside her it had another piece that was handheld. The strange noise came from this as a fine green mist came out of the end, the green stuff that was sprayed onto a piece of metal. It was also was what smelled so horrible.

Somehow alerted to the fact that she wasn't the only one in the workshop any more, likely a cross of the coughing fit and the creaky old stairs, Jessy cut off the paint sprayer and looked up. Not seeing anyone in the driveway she straightened up and turned. Sonic smiled and waved at her from the bottom stair.

"Hey Sonic," The woman smiled, her voice sounding muffled thanks to the mask. "I thought you were upstairs."

"I was." Sonic said walking over, adding gracelessly, "I'm bored. What are you doing?"

Jessy quirked an eyebrow up at the bluntness but let it slide since she herself was rather blunt sometimes. The mechanic waved a hand that had a work glove on it at the piece of metal she was working on, "I'm doing a custom paint job for that bike there." She then pointed to one of the ten or so motorcycles that were parked (more like squeezed) inside. "They guy wanted green and black flame pattern."

"Can I watch?" Sonic asked.

"I don't see why not. Though," The woman put down the paint nozzle, rising to the painting pack she had not far away, and rummaged around for her spare mask. Finding it she tossed it to the anthro hedgehog as he came over. "You'll need this. Don't want to breathe too many fumes. It's bad for you."

Sonic caught the flying mask and inspected it completely before pulling it over his muzzle. He had to adjust it for a minute or two before it fit properly. From beside him Jessy smothered a chuckle.

"What?" Sonic tipped his ears up, his own voice taking that muffled sound as well. "What are you laughing at?"

"You," The woman pointed at a rearview mirror of the nearest bike. Giving the human a strange look Sonic peered into the small mirror. He laughed when he saw himself at the same time hearing Jessy's camera whirr and click. Though the mask fit for the most part, it was designed with humans in mind, not oversized hedgehogs.

Jessy picked up the nozzle again and point to the piece of metal, "I'm using dark green as a background," She explained to the hedgehog as he came up beside her, "I'll do the flames black in that patter over there. See? On the wall?"

"Yeah," Sonic nodded, his interest caught for now as he glanced around to see the displayed patterns, then looked down at the carefully controlled motions.

When the green was on, he stepped back to scribble in his note book as Jessy shifted the piece and put another on the workbench in front of her. She glanced over to see Sonic entertaining himself at another bench with matching tools to the outlines on the wall above. Fuzzy ears started twitching again, one angling to aim at Jessy as she started humming under her mask, not seeming to realize it. After Sonic identified a patterned, and the steady motions of applying paint made his attention waver again.

The hedgehog couldn't help it, "What's that?" he asked tilting his head first at Jessy, then movement of a very sad looking squirrel bounding into the semi shielded of the open shop door had his attention. The grey rodent shook itself and still looked more like a half drown rat. Sonic could completely sympathize with it as the thing chittered angrily at the water pooling a few inches away.

"Hmm?" Jessy looked up, then back at the squirrel, "Oh hush Charlie. I left some good nuts for you in your dish." She snorted.

"Charlie?" Sonic echoed in amusement, his quills lifting and falling with one of his deeper breaths to stretch out his ribcage.

"Yeah, it's a perfect name for a native grey squirrel," Jessy sniffed under her mask, pointing to Charlie as he scampered up the side of the nearest shelf to a small green dish to sit on a small towel and start grooming itself dry again. "I found him a few years ago, some kids had taken him when a baby and seemed to have lost interest. So I took the spazz in, closest thing to a pet that I have, and he hides in the work shop in the winter, but has to have vet checks."

"Huh." Sonic watch Charlie hide under the fold of the towel, then pop back u to grab some treats from the green dish and hide again.

"Anyways, what did you say before?"

Sonic looked back to Jessy, "What were you humming?"

"Oh, that?" The woman reached up to use the semi clean fingers of her glove to rub at her head. "It's… well, to be honest it's the old spell curse thing on my clan, if you believe that."

Blue ears tipped and then curled all the way forward, green eyes widening and even a blue tail was visibly arched up before Sonic turned to fully face Jessy, the picture of riveted attention and curiosity. "Really?"

Jessy laughed, then her voice took a semi singing lilt, "Roam, roam the Storm Runner will. Roam, roam until the end of time." her own blue eyes unfocused a bit in memory of hearing her clan story for the first time sitting in front of Nana with a dyeing fire behind the older woman. "Roam, roam the Storm Runner shall, until he dies or the day he has children of his own. Then roam, roam all the children of the Storm Runner shall. Roam, roam the Storm Runner will, until they die or have children of their own. Roam, roam until the end of time."

"...what does it mean?" Sonic tilted his head again, feeling an odd pull, a kinship to the strange poem-thing.

"Well, in basics, its supposed to mean that no one in my family from my father's side can sit still once they're about my age, my two older brothers are already gone. Left two and three years ago." The woman grinned, she waved out into the pouring rain, "The only thing that keeps a Storm Runner still is a, well, a storm. Rain more. But The Storm Runners, and Rain Walkers are of the same single Nomadic Nation."

"Nomadic Nations…?" Sonic echoed, knowing he should know this. Jessy had mentioned it before, but he knew something else… hanging there in the back of his mind.

"Yes, the Nations have been around for a long, long time, but it wasn't only like.." Jessy paused to recall, putting her painter away as she finished the last piece for the base coats, "Eh… it was about four hundred years ago that most other stationary nations recognized us. And we, the different clans, where some of the first to joined the U.N. Those born like here in the U.S. or in Canada have dual residency."

Jessy snorted, "Thankfully I don't have to pay nearly as much in taxes, and I volunteer to aid the elders as my dues to the Storm Runners."

"Dues?" Sonic found a stool that once long ago had been a chair but lost the back at some point, under one of the tables.

"Yeah, we donate to those who are in collages, like me in tech school to learn mechanics, the bulk of the cost was covered by the Nation." Jessy turned and pointed to her motorcycles, including the one that had been the hedgehog runner-over in the far back. "In return I help out some of the oldest of our people in this area, the Uncles." She tied explaining.

Jessy looked at Sonic for a long moment, thoughtful. Then she spoke up again. "Hey Sonic, I was going out in an hour to do just that, bring some stuff over to the Uncles thanks to the flooding. Want to come?"

Blue ears twitched up and the lanky runner lifted his head from semi spacing out as he did when trying to imagine what he was being told. "Out?" the hedgehog half echoed, half asked.

"Yeah, like I said I got to run some errands for the old uncles of the family." Jessy said as she stood and stretched, moving over to find and shrug into her favorite, and warmest sheep lined riding jacket, and then picking up the keys to that old pick up they used to get here from Red's, and she used when not on her motorcycle. She grinned, "It's my turn and with the flooding as I said, they would like a visit beside."

"…eh?" Sonic blinked in confusion, winced as he leaned back, the light was just right so the human could see a lighter shade of almost turquoise streaks in the clumps of quills.

Really though, it was the hedgehog's eyes that were the most interesting thing about him if you paid attention. They were an almost impossibly clear emerald green, Jessy new no less than four people who would adore them or be jealous, with no hint of the worries that held down most people. They were... untainted. It was like the phrase 'the eyes are the windows to the soul,' only real. But that was getting sidetracked, and the woman shook her head before looking at the open and honest hedgehog expression.

"Full words Sonic," Jessy said as she came over and stated riffling through the papers on the far back table while taking off her mask. She was looking for her wallet, thus her driver's licenses, "The three old uncles live together up north a bit, safe from the flood zones. They don't leave the lower property where Grand Papa lives so we grand kids and great grandkids that are old enough take turns bringing in supplies in for the old farts... HAH!" She stood and held up the missing wallet up like it was the Holy Grail.

How had it gotten under the drying cloths rack though?

Sonic cocked his head in interest at both the idea of going out and this reviled family (clan? Nations?) duty. He had been on bed rest for a few weeks now and although he was dying of boredom, as well as the pain of several cracked ribs. But at the same time, Jessy's comfy little house/workshop was the safest place he'd been in the past few months, since Uncle Chuck's place. That was about as far back as he could remember, had woken up on a road, nearly got ran over by a massive trailer hauling truck and… well, nothing before that. He had been running virtually ever since then. That was already written out in as much detail as Sonic could remember.

So, he did like the idea of going out, but at the same time was reluctant to go thanks to experience with humans before of the negative kind, as well as that instinct to hibernate.

"Oy..." Jessy made a mental note to clean up this coming weekend. She had business to run after all, and these papers should be upstairs at least. The mechanic paused in stomping into her boots on, switching from the slippers that she wore in the shop, to look over at Sonic with dark blue eyes, "You coming or staying?"

Sonic chewed on his lip before nodding, "Going."

"Cool, I'll get your shoes." Jessy said and went down the inner stairs to her work shop below on the first story that was the work shop. "And, I'll grab a few of those pillows, the old truck is bumpy." Jessy offered.

"Yes please." Sonic gave a relieved sigh, then winced, "Maybe one of those horse pills too?" he added as Jessy vanished up the stairs, thankfully for her it meant the anthro wouldn't see her half into her closet as Jessy fought the things inside of it for some spare pillows.

Fist though she tossed the hedgehog's shoes down, so Sonic was just as thankful no one but Charlie the squirrel saw as he just managed to contort himself in the least painful way to get his own shoes on and by the time he was helped into the massive tank like old truck known as The Monster, the painkiller had started taking affect, making the fallowing ride very interesting.

And then it started raining harder on the way to the store.


	8. Tinker

Sonic yawned widely despite himself, stuffing his wrist into his mouth to block it from any stray bugs or from loosing his half chewed treat. His ears flicked back a moment before picking up as he looked around the semi open market. It was something like a cross of a farmer's market and a store, some old and giant barn that had been converted. Sliding doors opened to a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree lot in the back. The former still being picked through and the latter having reluctant admires in adults, and dawning hope from children.

Even with the pouring rain just ten feet and a wall away from the anthro, he was surprised how many people were still braving the weather to be in this market, getting last season treats before the shift from fall to winter products. At the same time there wasn't too many people, letting Sonic adapt to being in normal human culture again (wait…normal?) and people watch the inhabitants as much as they were subtly and not so subtly watching him back.

In all honestly Sonic couldn't blame them, for one he was a five foot tall hedgehog built like a runner, but now he also understood dark indigo fur and quills weren't that normal naturally. For him yes, but not really in feral fur coats.

Sonic popped another handful of his munchies in his mouth and eyed the refrigerated display of meats, fish and dairy in front of him critically.

A thump of a bag in the basket he was leaning on made Sonic jump, then he picked up Jessy's sent (lavender, metal and tang of paint), relaxing the hedgehog turned to investigate the two new bags. "That's a lot of onions."

"Oh yeah, enough I can grab a few." Jessy chuckled and leaned over the basket, eyeing the bandages over fur. Checking to be sure all the movement Sonic was doing in the last few hours wasn't moving them out of place, "How are you holding up?" She asked, rubbing her left shoulder.

"About as well as you," The hedgehog said, tilting his head at the bags inside the large basket, "I thought you shouldn't be lifting things…"

Jessy shrugged, looking over the meats as well now, "yeah… mostly just using my right arm."

"Mostly." Sonic pointed out, one ear curving the right as he picked up a soft sound of small feet on the sawdust covered floor. The anthro looked over, then down with Jessy, who had learned just how sensitive those big ears where and now paid attention when Sonic did to something.

Jessy wasn't the only one to hear the gasp as a woman down the aisle realized her toddler son had wondered away to investigate the strange new person. No older than two or three at most, the boy reached out to touch the blue and brown anthro's leg. It shifted, and the boy giggled while Sonic stared down in surprise. His ears pricked all the way forward as he looked down, twitching his tail out of easy reach.

Emerald eyes softened as the slight tension in slender shoulder relaxed. Sonic crouched down on heels and offered his hand to the human child, watching with the same amount of fascination for the tiny human as the boy had for him. The hedgehog seemed transfixed at the small hand in his, gripping one finger while the other hand curiously touched the claws that hand been filed flat.

And eerie but peaceful calm seemed to grip all those in the Barn-Market, watching the innocence of youth meeting his first non-human being.

"Fuzzy!" The boy announced.

Sonic smiled, not showing teeth, "Yeah, I'm fuzzy."

"Fuzzy!" The child said again, and then hugged the blue arm, trying to snuggle against the hedgehog.

There was a small popping sound, as Jessy opened the cookie container and passed a brightly colored chocolate-rainbow cookie to Sonic. He took it and offered the two inch cookie to the toddler, and once distracted by needing both hands to hold the cookie, Sonic turn the boy around and gently pushed him back to his mother. The toddler burbled around his treat and his mother sighed, looking at the two her son had wondered too with relief and a friendly smile. Her fears had been the natural kind of a mother, nothing more.

"That was adorable," Jessy said, smiling and internally betting that interaction might be online on not just the local community social sites but a few bigger ones too. If not the Barn-Market's own website and on the wall of pictures on the east wall.

Oh well, there had been no harm.

"He was smaller than the girls at Red's…" Sonic marveled, using the basket that Jessy braced to help him back up right.

"We all start small." Jessy pointed out, getting another two cookies for them, aware of the boy still watching them, or rather Sonic as shopping continued.

"Yeah, I know, but not a lot of kids have been aloud around me other than just the two." Sonic shrugged, nibbling on his own cookie. "Anyways..."

Jessy looked back at him, then her eyes flicked over to the hedgehog, then pointed to the back near the sliding doors, "Can you pick out a few pumpkins?"

"How?" Sonic blinked, looking like a dear in the high beams, even as he was laughed at.

"Just pic out two or three that look pretty. I'll swing by back there in a few minutes." Jessy laughed leaving the basket with Sonic since he seemed to take an odd pleasure with the simple act of pushing it around. The mechanic was surprised that she had picked up on that so well from the anthro, but then he wasn't all that hard to read she found.

Shrugging, Jessy aimed for the yams while her current roommate migrated to the back, pausing every few steps to investigate each new fruit or vegetable he came across with curiosity that seemed to charm the Barn-Market owners. The woman picked through to find what seemed like a good three bags, getting a forth for her and Sonic and was eying the squash when a familiar set of voices, one in particular penetrated Jessy's concentration and meal plans. She paused with a potato in hand, looking at the palm sized root with a hope that she could hear was vain.

 _Go to the sandwich shop you idiot._ Jessy thought to the joint parking lot, wondering what on earth Jason was doing on this side of the flood waters. She could hear her ex and his buddies as they piled out of whatever car or truck they had wedged themselves into. She knew they were here for the sandwich shop, it was that good and Jessy had been debating on treating Sonic to sharing one of the bigger ones.

Maybe not today…

Then she heard an exclamation as the man she really didn't want to meet as he spotted her distinctive tank of a pickup. Jessy turned, gave a small sigh that a display of corn stocks were blocking her from easy view, but the woman could look between the leaves. And she did, Jess keeping an eye on the three men as Jason waved his hands and pointed at the Monster, even trying to look under the hard cover over the bed, but that was locked.

"Oh that's it." Jessy growled as she spotted the small spray pain can being tossed to her ex. Movement had her looking to the side at the older, short red head woman that owned the market. "Sorry Marybeth, I'll pay for damages. But call the sheriff" Jessy said to the concerned woman before grabbing up another potato before stepping around the corn display and pitched the first potato just as James started to vandalize her truck.

Unaware of having the instant attention of the lone Anthro in the background, it was still a strange pleasure to see her ex getting beamed in the shoulder. "James Allen Wonderbuer!" Jessy yelled stalking over, "Get the hell away from Monster, or by Chaos I'll kick that bony butt of yours all the way back to Seattle from here."

"You bloody Tinker!" James yelled back, his 'i' in the word he started writing on the truck being all flubbed up now. Then he realized who was baring down on them. "You better watch yourself Tinker, I'll charge you with assault!"

"Oh no, you see, there's two cameras here," Jessy pointed back at the market, then sandwich shop, "I'm defending my property that you're vandalizing idiot."

James snorted, "Like you would, you ran from every fight with your tail between your legs when I graced you with a pity relationship! You're nothing but a mutt and sinking nomad!" He yelled, worked up like he had been riled before.

"Chaos James," Jessy realized as she came over, ignoring Dingo and the other man she didn't know. "You're drunk before noon now?" She rolled her eyes, "Go sleep it off in a ditch and wake up to a vandalizing charge."

"See! See! See!?" The man yelled, too caught up in his haze and whatever imagined rightechusness to fully realize what was happening around him. He threw the mini spray can at the woman, and it wasn't the best of throws, so it was easily dodge-able, but Jessy stay standing.

The mechanic closed her eyes as the can hit her, holding her breath to avoided most of the paint fumes. As the can clattered to the ground several things happened at once, Jessy looked down. Her favorite jacket now had a line of red on the front on the right side. The woman looked up and threw a punch at the same time a blue blurr of fur and furry impacted against the unknown man and sent him to the ground.

Sonic bristled, his quills flaring out to make the anthro look bigger, "That's enough!"

"What-" Dingo started, starting to move but unsure, he looked at the scuffle of James and Jessy not knowing what to do. He liked Jessy, she had always been a friend that was actually kind to him, even when the big man was working at a slower mental pace. He winced as the woman kneed James, then with the admittedly burned emotions of an insulted female, wedged the potato into James' mouth to keep him from talking.

"Jessy?" Sonic asked, standing on the third man to keep him down, eyeing Dingo and ready to leap into action again.

"He's down," The mechanic debated kicking but took the higher road and let James just whimper around his new gag and curl up on the ground. She moved over and caught the taller blond by the ear, using her nails.

"Ow! Owowowow!" Dingo complained but he still wasn't acting hostile at all.

"Darian Dingo." The woman scowled as she led the man by the ear to the bench as a police car came into the parking lot. "You're Nana will be so ashamed of you! I heard you promise you wouldn't be hanging around that jerk. Drunk before noon, Chaos! Have you been drinking in the morning? You know I have to tell your Nana about this? And your sister!"

Sonic arched and eye ridge and flicked his ears at that, watching where he had shifted to sitting on the truck hood instead of standing on the human when he first caught a glimpse of that blue and white car. He watched in some bemusement as Dingo wilted and tried to be small, and Sonic felt sorry for the guy. Identifying someone who had been taken advantage, and wondering why Jessy was scolding him so much.

It wasn't until things were sorted that he got it. James [potato and all] and the other man were arrested. Jessy and Sonic had witnesses on their side, the whole thing on video. Dingo was scolded by the Sharif, who knew him and then again by the young woman, ending up being Dingo's younger sister. She herded him into own car, after Making Dingo apologize to everyone effected

"Dingo's a good kid," Jessy explained checking the cosmetic damage on her truck, "Just…slow in the head…"

"I picked that up," Sonic said settling down after rearranging his nest of pillows on his side of the cab. "He was being taken advantage of, the human, man, wasn't just lost when I was nose to chest with him."

The hedgehog paused waiting until Jessy was in and leaving the market, having to that little boy.

"Jessy?" Sonic asked one he sensed she was calmed down again.

"Hmm?" Jessy glanced over, blue eyes meeting green.

"What is a Tinker?" the hedgehog asked hesitantly.

Jessy closed her eyes for a moment, only because they were at a stop sign. Listening to the rain on the roof, and the grumble of the engine were familiar and relaxing. "Its... in the context used today, it's a rather nasty insult to those of the Nomadic Nations."

"Oh..." Sonic thought about it, watching as they passed a block. Then the hedgehog moved over to press his left shoulder to Jessy's right. "Well, whatever the history, I think you're way past cool Jessy."

The mechanic grinned and bumped Sonic back, "So are you Sonic."

"Of course I am! But I'm willing to share my awesomeness with you."

"So subtle that."

"Subtle?" Sonic snorted, "Wasn't aiming for it in the least."

Jessy gave the anthro that was now lounging on her side a look and rolled her eyes.


	9. Bath

That brush.

Sonic hated and loved that stupid in all its semi soft and bristly inglory. It smoothing out his quills better than his fingers could, and cleaned them beside. Getting dust dirt and whatever other tiny things that got caught up in the clumps on his head and back. That brush even felt good in his fur, getting tiny but annoying itches from healing that normally Sonic forced himself to ignore.

It was a wonderful, useful and awesome brush.

Jessy used it only at bath time.

It was an evil brush.

Sonic sighed in a mix of the simple pleasure of having his quills cleaned, but also in misery. He was taking a bath. With water. Evil, evil pooling water from the show ahead, slowly rising but not that fast. It was the only way a bath was made tolerable for him right now.

"For Chaos sake Sonic, it's not that bad." Jessy snorted, rolling her eyes at the dramatics. Wet or just unclean hedgehog ended up having a not so nice smell, so she ordered Sonic to the bathtub every four days.

"Yes it is!" Sonic protested, and then reflexively held his breath and Jessy poored water over his head to rinse quills and fur of the soap. He tilted his head forward, the skin relaxed so the mechanic could push the quills to one side and make sure everything was rinsed. Sonic learned his lesson after the first bath when he was trying to reach the hard spots on his own, soap residue itched like ants in the fur (and he had that once, horrible).

Jessy rolled her eyes as she finished with Sonic's back, only really ever staying just to help him with his head and back before sitting back. She offered the long brush- not ever wanting to admit it was a pony-brush that worked the best to clean blue quills and help not tare up her hands. She had scars on her palm now from The Night of Running Over.

"Here you big baby, clean up, and I'll go pull out the meat rolls out of the over." The woman smirked, but then put her poker face on (it always worked on Sonic) as the hedgehog pricked his ears up, one curving around to aim at the open bathroom door. Sonic was sniffing as Jessy made sure there was six towels on the sink, because that was a lot of fur and the anthro got twitchy if he didn't dry himself off as thoroughly as possible.

The woman chuckled after the door closed and the distinctive sound of water going down the bathtub drain sounded, the anthro switching to a full on shower. She walked the grand few steps over to the kitchen and to the oven.

Personally, Jessy liked her meat rolls baked then fried, though the second way was nice in the family gatherings. She used a knife to poke an orange roll, then a yellow-ish one. Deeming them about done- and that was the plan. The type of food was fairly common in the Nomadic Nations, with variations between the clans in flavors. These types were her own clan's, Jessy liking the tangy one, Sonic just devoured the spicy orange rolls with his now apparent adoration to spicy-hot stuff.

Jessy was so going to get a pepper for him next grocery run.

And get her camera ready.

"You're so evil woman," Jessy muttered under her breath, nabbing one of the few done rolls and biting into it, the sweet-tangy meat and veggie filling wasn't as piping hot as she liked, but it was still good. She got the next batch set up, trusting Sonic to clean up after himself now too. So when he came out with and armload of towles to go to the laundry bin, Jessy put the next batch in to cook while she was taking her shower.

"Hmm, food…" Sonic gave himself one last shake- on the other side of the room- before coming over to grab a plat, piling it as high as he dared before retreating to the couch and his blanket there, eyeing the clouds outside. "What is with this place and rain?"

"Welcome to the north west winters fuzzy." Jessy smirked, "Better then snow here, but we get that later after new year's on average." She ducked into her room to get her own towel, "It'll let up after this thunderstorm, might be cloudy but it shouldn't rain for a while."

"How do you know?" Sonic demanded, turning on the tv for the first time that day, he and Jessy had been just talking, or singing to pass the time as the woman worked down stairs. Sonic had proven to have a very good voice for singing, and his big runner lungs helping to no end as he watched and helped the mechanic.

On the drawback, Sonic now had a sea-shanty stuck in his head. As well as the Lama Song.

"I'm a Storm Runner," Jessy winked as she closed the bathroom door behind her, her voice muffled behind the door, "Check the oven in fifteen!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic shook his head, then his shoulders slumped. He got up and darted over, quietly to the kitchen to get a glass a milk, more meat rolls, and a bunch of the zone-fruit that he loved.

Settled down, the hedgehog anthro relaxed in his warm and dry blankets that were used for the pull out couch-bed when not being nested in. Green eyes focused on the tv as Sonic came across a new channel. His favorite adventuring-heroes turtle show wasn't on, not even reruns. So he defaulted on learning, or relearning about the Old World, the notebook for him to write down memory fragments was within arm's reach with a ped.

Sonic was set for the night.

_Ring!_

Sonic lifted his head out of his food at the sound, looking around. It had been just long enough for him to get involved with TV and dinner, and for Jessy to be stubborn and not come out. Blue, if still damp ears twitched and one tipped to the side.

_Ring!_

He looked over at the cordless phone on the kitchen counter, locating it more by sound.

_Ring!_

Sonic glanced over at the bathroom door where Jessy was still taking a shower. Could she hear it…? Well yes she could, he always could (but then he had better earing), so she was just ignoring the world outside of the bathroom.

_Ring!_

Shrugging, and swallowing that last bit of his spicy goodness, the hedgehog got up and picked the phone up, "Hello?"

" _Hello, is Jessica there?_ " Came a woman's light voice over the phone.

Sonic eyes took a deeper shade of green as he grinned, "Jessy said her mom lives in Ferndale, sorry." He had been wanted to say that, use

" _What? I know that, I'm her aunt! Who's this? And where's Jessica?_ "

Oops.

"Hang on." Putting the phone down on the counter Sonic turned to the bathroom. Half way there he stopped and glanced back in near awe, he could hear that woman on the phone all the way over here! She must have a good set of lungs.

Somewhat feeling sorry for his hostess Sonic opened the bathroom door and walked in, "Hey Jessy!"

"GAH!" the mechanic yelped as she jumped and nearly fell. If she hadn't been using up all the hot water that was left she would have turned red. Taking a deep breath Jessy firmly reminded herself that Sonic wasn't use to the whole 'private shower' concept, at least on in the first stage. He needed help with his back and quills, so Sonic had thought it nice to return the favor.

Several times… if he hadn't been honestly innocent about wanting to help Jessy she would have through his favorite brush at him.

However, seeing Sonic as a blue poof-ball of frizzy fur after his last shake a bit ago (mostly) made up for his current 'helping out' phase. At least he didn't make a move to push the curtain aside and order the woman to turn so he could scrub her back.

"What?" Jessy asked peeking around said curtain, keeping a very firm grip on it. The camouflage of work day grim was go at last.

"There's someone on the phone for you." Sonic said jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the open bathroom door.

"Oy! Cold air!"

"Er, sorry."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know." He shrugged again, "Said she was your aunt and called you Jessica." Sonic tipped his ears forward as Jessy pulled back out of sight and groaned at that, he could make out her outline behind the curtain so he saw the woman's shoulders slump before thumping her head against the wall.

"Aunt Mini." Jessy made a face at the white plastic, "I bet you my next paycheck she's calling about the family dinner at Grand Papa's." She wanted nothing more then to duck back into the hot waters forever just then, but only did it to get rid of what shampoo was left in her hair before using a foot to shut off the flow. "I'm coming out. Don't talk to her again if you don't want to tell your life history."

"It wouldn't be very long" Sonic chucked and waited, arms crossing. Jessy peered back out after a minute. They looked at one another.

"Turn around you pervert! Or hand me that towel." The towel was tossed at her head before Sonic scampered out right away with the Awesome-Evil brush being tossed back at his retreating frame.

From his nest of blankets on the couch, Sonic watched in festination not the new- the tv turned down really, as Jessy came out in her possessively protected extra, extra large towel. Then the next few minutes alone proved to be highly entertaining for him as he listened to one side of the conversation.

Or was it an interrogation?

"…Yes Aunty, I'm going to the dinner, I wouldn't miss it…. No, I don't know where Jake or Sam are. I haven't talked to my older brothers for a few months. No, I'm not worried. They know about the dinner, I mean, _everyone_ in our family knows about it. Yes, Dad's side of the family. Yes, I know we move a lot. No, I'm not staying in Seattle Aunty. It's almost my wander year that's why. I'm just saving money for it right now."

Jessy rolled her eyes and let out a silent sigh of long suffering. Not bothering to point out that she had moved out of Seattle proper three years ago.

"No I'm not going to reconsider! It's tradition! I know it's from Dad's side, hell almost all the fun stuff is. No, I'm _not_ saying Mom's side isn't good, I'm just saying there's not as many -What? Oh HELL NO! There is NO way you're going to set me up on a date! I don't _care_ if it's been six months since I last went on one. What? Who will think what? …Who's 'they?' Where'd you hear THAT?! No, I'm not lesbian! I'm just not dating anyone and I don't WANT to. Simple, if I get involved with anyone it'll be harder to leave when I –oh crap I shouldn't have said that."

Jessy hung her head as her Aunt launched into another attempt to get her niece to 'see' some nice young boys she knew that were Jessy's age.

From across the room, sitting up on the couch now with ears riveted on the scene before him to strain and catch a few words over the phone, Sonic hid his own snicker now as he watched Jessy. The 'talk' with her aunt had been like this for nearly a half an hour already.

It didn't help Jessy's over all growing mood of annoyance with Aunt Mini, that she was stuck with only a towel, her aunt hadn't stopped talking long enough for her to excuse herself to get anything on. Luckily, Sonic wasn't in the least bit interested in human females like men where. But really, when was the aunt's nest breathing break?

The woman looked up from the counter top and glared at the blue hedgehog when she heard him make an odd sound before suddenly turning all of her attention to the phone.

"No Aunt Mini! I'm NOT going to be over to your house any time soon. I got work that's why. I have four details, a costume paint job and a tone of tune ups and such appointments to get done by the end of the week. Between that and helping my friend I'm _just_ going to be able to go to Grand Papa's for that weekend. Yes, I'm still into motorcycles. No, I'm not going to give it up. Why? Because it's my _livelihood_ Aunt Mini. _Yes_ , I am aware it can be dangerous riding one. _Of course_ I use a helmet. Huh? Say what? You're taking _who_ to the dinner?"

The dead silence from Jessy made Sonic sit up. Who was she talking about? The hedgehog watched the human's eyes grow wide then narrowed as she glared at a point on the counter top.

" _WHAT?!_ "

Sonic winced, ears flattening back at the yell. He found himself subtly shifting lower behind the blankets, trying to sink into the couch in a reaction of any male that fears the female wrath.

"There's no way in the hells and raw Chaos that I'm going to do anything for that… that… cheating…!" Jessy waved her free arm for emphasis even though her Aunt couldn't see her building wrath. The woman had to grab franticly at her towel after that rather quickly, turning her back to Sonic who was now standing up in reaction to her emiostions like at the Barn Market.

"Yes that means we haven't made up! Why would I make up with that lying, cheating, racist, vandalizing _kiebar idiot_ like that?! Yes! That's a nomadic insult to James! If I see him anywhere near the diner, anywhere near my baby brothers and cousins, I will castrate him before drop kicking him to Olympia.

"Besides I was going to take a friend over so there wouldn't be any room on the bike." Jessy attempted to calm down, "Yes my friend is a boy –what? He's staying at my place, why? What? No. We're _friends_ Aunty, it's not like that. Huh? What does condoms have to do with anything?"

The mechanic felt a deep blush take root, "Aunt Mini! No! I wouldn't…! EW! No way! That's just…EW! I'm hanging up now. This conversation has just hit a rating I'm not even going to touch with a stick! Good. Bye. Aunty Mini." With that Jessy quickly hanging up, her aunt's faint voice heard till the phone clicked into its charger.

Jessy turned around and yelped when she became face-to-face with frowning Sonic.

"What was _that_ about?" the blue and brown hedgehog asked, quirking an eye ridge.

"That was my Aunt when she's not _as_ noisy as she normally is." The woman said, clinging to her towel and edging back. She was still blushing, though Sonic couldn't figure out why she would be. Hadn't she been hell-furry made a few seconds ago?

"No, I mean the thing about the condoms." Sonic frowned again.

"I… Errr… That's, umm…" Jessy shivered, and then pounced on that as an excuse. "I'll let you figure that one out. I got to go or I'll freeze to death! Cheerio!"

With that she fled to the room, leaving a very confused hedgehog Anthro standing in the kitchen. It wasn't until much later that he understood the reference. Sonic chocked on his water, nearly doing a spit-take on the low coffee table in front of him.

"Sonic!" Jessy got up from where she was sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, eating her own tangy meat roll dinner. She didn't have a 'real' dining table so it was the counter, the couch or the coffee table, "Are you alright?" The woman leaned over to give the hedgehog a careful slap on the back.

"Y…yeah, I'm," Sonic gasped as he cleared his air way, "I'm good."

"You know, you're supposed to _drink_ the water not _breath_ it fuzzy man. That's what the air is for."

"Oh, hah-hah...Very funny Jessy.


	10. Big Sister

"Jessica Ann Binger!”

Jessy flinched at the both the sound of her mother’s voice over the phone, and the use of her full name. Oh boy. She was in deep trouble if her mother used her full name…

Why couldn’t mom wait to rant until tomorrow? Hadn’t she enough of relatives calling and ranting after Aunt Mini earlier? It was almost bed time for this mechanic, and the thunder storm had just started.

“Hi mom,” She said into the phone, Jessy just wanting to be in bed with a brownie and watch the calming patters of falling rain through her sky light. But she also couldn’t help wondering how the older woman could give such a reprimand with just three words. It had be a Mother Thing, as those words where her name, not a curse or scolding tone.

“ _Don’t you ‘hi mom’ me young lady! What’s this I hear about you living with a man?_ ”

“….wha?” The younger woman blinked a few times at her cabinet stupidly, trying to wake back up. Jessy had just started to get ready to flop over in bed before the phone rang again

“ _I had to find this out from my sister, do you know--_ ”

“Aunt Mini! Oh hell no, she didn’t!” Jessy smacked her face, dropping the cordless gracelessly as she did a face-plant on the counter, arms dangling limply. She trusted her aunt to not only stretch the truth, but blow it way out of proportion.

Snatching the phone up, Jessy spook as she straightened up, awake and wanted to kill this spazz before it became another misled late night intervention. She didn’t want another innocent where she had stumbled out to the bathroom and find family members in the living room because Aunt Mini hadn’t paid full attention that the ‘Jorge’ that would be living with Jessy for a few months was a golden retriever, a dog not a human man.

“Mom, Mom…MOM!” Jessy yelled, wincing at having to do so to her mother, but she knew her mother could go off on a tangent like her aunt. “Listen, I have a _friend_ staying here with me, no it’s not like that. You know how Aunt Mini is, remember _Jorge_? Why would I hock up with anyone when I’m going to be leaving any time this year? Yeah I’ll tell you all about it next weekend at the dinner. Yes, I’m sure mom. Okay, love you too. _Good night_ , and don’t listen to aunt Mini, and please for the love of the north winds don’t come here at three in the morning, or let her. Better yet, I’m barricading the doors.”

That last part was added more to Jessy then her mother as she hung up.

“Your family sure is noisy.”

Jessy looked up from putting the phone away at the Anthro hedgehog who was leaning on the counter behind her, arms crossed.

“More or less,” The woman agreed as she shrugged, “It’s mostly on Mom’s side of things from what I’ve seen. Doesn’t help I’m the only girl of my mom’s.”

“Huh.” Sonic sniffed and scratched behind his ear, “So what’s all the fuss about this dinner at your granddad’s? Almost everyone that’s called the last three weeks that wasn’t a costumer is asking if you’re going.”

“Well,” Jessy turned and leaned back on the fridge, “The dinner is tradition on my dad’s side. Almost the whole family, mostly immediate family that is, gets together about three times a year. We tend to wander off and don’t come back for some time. Like my older brothers,” The woman shamelessly yawned that jaw stretching yawn, glancing at Sonic as he lounged on the other side of the counter, his back to the living room. “I’ve only seen Sam and Jake about five, maybe six times, for more then a day since they left on their wander year, years, I think I was sixteen back then when they left.”

“Wander year?” Sonic echoed back as, “You’ve mentioned that before. What does it really mean? You’re going to ‘wander off?’”

“That’s basically it.” Jessy grinned.

“Eh?” Sonic tipped his ears up at her.

“Everyone in my family, those from dad’s side that is in the nations, just up and leave when they’re around my age, twenty one to twenty six.” The mechanic said, “Something just makes us want to go. I think it’s because there was so many nomads in the blood lines. And we _are_ a part of the Nomadic Nations as well.” She picked at her fuzzy  shaking her head. “But if you hear Great Grandma talk about it, she’ll tell you that it’s because of some old curse put on our blood some three hundred or so generations ago.”

“Curse?” The dark blue hedgehog pricked his ears. “The roam-roam one?”

“The very one,” Jessy yawned, waving at the fold out couch while stuffing her wrist into her mouth, then, “Okay, see you in the morning Blue.”

“Night Wrench,” Sonic tossed off a back handed wave as he turned to his bed as well.

“Cursed blood…” jessy muttered to herself as she gratefully fell into bed, pulling her brown comforter and sheets over her head almost. “Roam, roam your children will. Roam, roam you children’s children will. ‘Til the day you give birth. Then roam, roam your children will.’” Jessy said in a very soft whisper, the mechanic, the nomad at heart swallowed thickly as her eyes drifted to the sliding door that led to the covered patio, then rolled slowly in her warming patch in the bed. “Roam, roam… A nomad’s heart will always be…where the endless road leads away.”

Personally, she thought it was a good thing it would be raining a lot this winter, despite Sonic’s complaints. It was always soothing, reassuring, and like the rain kept Jessy rooted by a vital thread, wanting to finish her last honor bound duty…

Thunder roared above in the heavens, rolling over the lands and Jessy sighed. Firmly reminding herself that there was no curse in her veins. She would go on the wonder years, but on her own terms.

**_Crack-Boom!_ **

Sonic flattened his ears at the sound of thunder and tried vainly to block out the storm. Really, just what was it with this region and its thunderstorms? Was it always this bad in the winters? Jessy didn’t seem too worried about it, though she was probably use to it as she seemed to like it.

The woman had said something about this being an early winter and the storms might be a bit stronger than normal.

Another thunderclap rolled over the house and the hedgehog tried to burrow deeper into his folded out couch bed. He was warm, with the three blankets that the mechanic had piled on top of his nightly nest, but… Sonic peeked out of covers, looking at the windows and the rain pounding on or past them depending on the wall.

He _really_ didn’t like water… Sonic shivered, more of a reaction to a fractured memory that kept popping up the most in relation to baths or rain, or even the thought of going on a dock.

 _Get to safety._ Some part of him said, egging him to move. The feeling Sonic had niggling at the back of his brain just had was getting worse. _Safety. Go._

But the anthro _was_ safe here, wasn’t he? Jessy had locked all the doors and windows, as well as the workshop below. Chaos, Sonic had helped her in this as apart of their now established, nightly routine.

_Gooo! Now! Gogogogo!_

Slipping out from under the blankets the blue hedgehog went to the only other ‘safe place’ he could think of: Jessy’s room. Sonic stopped just before the door, not even a metal one like the main two doors, just something to give the two a divider of space at night for personal time, or when Jessy had to focus on the paper work aspect of her business. The blue and brown hedgehog retreated back to his bed to grab the blankets and then carefully opened the door.

The room was a bit darker then the living room, but only because it had the one window/skylight and the patio door, but something about it made it seem… well, secure? Protected? Was that just because he woke up here that first time after coming to this house (having passed out in Red’s truck)? Or that he had made friends with the human and she said he could stay here, and Jessy was well, _here_?

Whatever the reason, he just knew that it was indeed safer here then out on the couch. It couldn’t possibly be any worse right?

“Hey, Jessy…?” Sonic half whispered as he poked the soft lump under the giant comforter.

No reaction.

“Jessy, are you awake?” The dark blue hedgehog flattened his ears again as yet another thunderclap made its self known. He poked her again, a little harder.

“…ehrm…?” barely cracking an eye open Jessy shifted away from whatever was prodding her left side. With another unintelligible sound that might have been a word at any other time of day that wasn’t in the middle of the night she lifted her head up a fraction from under her pillow and blanket. What? She had an air tunnel.

“Jessy?”

“…eh?” the woman slowly pushed some of the fabric out of her face after, cracking an eye open, and squinted at the blurry blue shape by her bed. “Wha’srong?” she muttered, jumbling her words together.

“…can you… I mean…” Sonic shifted as thunder cracked, after a visible flash, once again, and making him flatten his ears tighter against his head and shift his hold on the blanks.

“Etin.” Jessy muttered shifting over and lifting the comforter up. Having only been living on her own for not all that long, and used to overnight baby sits, she was still use to having a little brother come into her room, seeking safety from a nightmare or a monster in the closet. In her sleepy, not even half awake state of mind Jessy honestly couldn’t tell the difference between her biological siblings and the Anthro hedgehog.

So, being the older, monster-slaying sister she was, Jessy moved over.

A moment later Sonic crawled under the comforter, after he gotten over his surprise. He hadn’t thought Jessy would let him… The hedgehog snorted softly and sighed, scooting closer and closer to the human.

Sonic shivered at another thunderclap and the sound of rain _everywhere..._ How could Jessy stand it in here?

“S’kay bro…” Jessy muttered reaching over, she hugged the slightly smaller Anthro when he glomped her side. Still running on older sister habits she started humming with her eyes closed. Then in a tired, soft voice started a lullaby that always worked, well most of the time it did, “ _Oh this is my home, these roads that I roam. Oh this is Our home, these roads that we have roamed. I need a father, someone that will show me the way. I need a mother, someone that will love me when I leave._ ”

Blue ears started to lift up at the old caravan tune, listening.

“ _Oh this is my home, these roads that I roam. Oh this is my home, these roads that we have roamed._ ” Jessy paused to yawn, “ _With the sun on my face, snow at my feet and the rain on my back. I just need a big brother, someone that will save me from the monsters that are outside._ ”

Sonic’s shivers slowly died away as he focused on the warm body beside him, the vibrations from her song.

“ _With the moon on my face, the storm pressing on my back and shadows nipping at my feet. I just want a big sister, someone that will fight the monsters that others don’t believe are there._ ”

The hedgehog took a deep breath, taking in Jessy’s scent, locking it into his mind as someone safe. Someone that could be trusted…like a family member. A sister… Soon, Sonic’s eyes close as he snuggled into Jessy’s side.

“ _Oh this is my home, with the wind in my hair, the stares in my eyes and the sea below, these wandering roads, these unknown paths._ ” Jessy stroked a fuzzy ear, drifting back to sleep herself. “ _This is our home, where we shall roam and roam before freedom’s wake. No kiss of magic holding us…_ ” she trailed off, twitching minutely as if something itched for a moment in her feet.


	11. Life won't wait

All things considering, giving near heart-attacks seemed to come with Sonic, even though he didn't really mean to scare his new sister. From that first unforgettable meeting, to finding out Sonic's guilty love of kitty crunchies, to when they found out the hard way that sonic couldn't handle rum and coke, and most of all, after a few months where Sonic felt like he could run again without any pain.

It was a sudden impulse that he had, the hedgehog decided that he didn't want to ride on the motorcycle anymore and just hopped off. Sonic had let go of Jessy, having been just shy of lounging as he stayed streamlined, a side effect of being exposed to wind. Planting his hands on the seat, Sonic shifted his weight to brace on his hands to be able to shoot back for room.

Jessy tried to look back, "What's wrong?" She asked, using more the communications system in her helmet. It was linked to not just the sensors in body suit and motorcycle, but also her phone and the walky-talky like device she had customize to fit in Sonic's ear.

"Nothing's wrong," Sonic said and he pushed off, "Just want to run." He flung up his legs free to either side, lifting to balance for a moment on his hands only.

Then, the world slowed down.

At least for Sonic as his body, and more importantly his mind shifted gears so to say, the world taking a copper tone tint. Everything wasn't stopped, it was still moving as the hedgehog didn't want to move quiet that fast. He braced and lifted up on his hands now, legs tossed up and to the sides to be clear as the hedgehog let the motorcycle move clear and out from under him.

Counting each step until he was running smoothly at five, Sonic couldn't help almost luxuriating in the feeling. Of moving, running that just barely too-much exercise feeling from the last month, almost two being basically lazy while healing. Now muscles woke back up, remembered how to run at speed, not just having quick reflexes to catch things.

It was... awesome!

The wind in his face, through his quills and thickening winter fur (that bug he just ate, not as good as his crunchies), the strain in his legs and chest as they stretched and worked.

Sonic turned to grin at Jessy, to share, but his smile faltered as she was just staring at him. The helmet preventing Sonic from seeing the gaping look, as the woman was going around eighty miles an hour on these near abandon highways (to take a longer rout to her grandfather's, to let Sonic enjoy a ride).

Sonic was keeping pace with her.

_Easily!_

If they hadn't been the only ones on the road at the time, Jessy latter would be sure she would have crashed into someone and cause a pile up as she just stared at the blue hedgehog. As it was her motorcycle started to drift to the left as she stared. Enough that Sonic moved over, grasping one handle bar and reached with his left hand to grab the middle, pulling the vehicle back into its lane.

Hold it while the human recovered from the shock of what just happened- having been expecting something resembling massively road rashed hedgehog, not _this._

Finnally, Jessy blurted out, "What the hell?"

"I said I was fast!" Sonic started to smile again, the device on his throat transferring his words over the wind.

"...that... the hell...?" The mechanic was trying to wrap her mind around what was going on. It took only a few minutes for the human to get her wits back into place, and not to need Sonic's support to keep herself up right.

Then as things seem to calm down, the impulse to show off happened. Speeding up and back, jumping and spinning, then catching up. Sonic did a sideways just, flipping and landing on the side of the road. He looked down to watch his feet, likely one of the only few that could see them clearly, as he turned to run backwards. That took a bit more concentration to maintain speed and react to any minor stumbles over rocks.

Jessy wasn't fully sure if she wasn't still in bed, with Sonic using her as a heat sorce and thus spawning this whole thing as a dream. But at the sae time was impressed, dream or no, that just... "Sonic look out!" Jessy yelled as she spotted the danger, but a few moments too late.

"What?" Sonic twisted around to face forward, just in time to run head-long into a speed limit sign. "Uhp!" the hedgehog anthro grunted as his momentum through him, and the sign tumbling off. The hedgehog reflexively curled up and hit the ground rolling. Bouncing and wincing at the damage more to his pride then body with the protection of quills, Sonic rolled into the ditch.

He whined at the cold mud in his fur, and that meant another bath before, and uncurled enough to point at the sky. "I'm okay!" Sonic yelled, getting up to brush himself off as Jessy left skid marks on the road as she slowed enough to spine around without throwing herself.

"Sonic!"

"I'm okay, just... ran into a speed limit sign..." Sonic sighed.

"How can you be alright?" Jessy demanded as she stopped on the gravel shoulder and hopped off to check the anthro over herself.

"I don't know, I just am." Sonic paused and added, "I've done that before."

"You...ran into a speed limit sign...?" The woman asked, holding Sonic by the shoulders.

Sonic gave a half powered smile, "Yeah."

"A speed limit sign."

"Yep."

The two stared at each other for a full thirty seconds, at a lose of what to do after all of that. Then, Jessy did the only thing she could do, as much to release tension from that just off the motorcycle.

She laughed.

Sonic pouted but the raw oddity of the whole situation soon had him smiling and joining in laughing. Even if it meant now that Jessy would never stop teasing him about the irony of this every time he went for a run.

That had been a month ago, and Sonic had been showing off his talents as fast as his body would let him go, as well as the winter weather. Sometimes he pushed himself a little too much, coming home with a limp for a day or to sleep it off, but that was just who he was as Jessy was learning.

The family get-togethers, the Dinners happened once a month to some bigger ones used as a beacon to bring those on their wander years back for at least a night or two, for visiting and to hear new stories. As well as the hearing of older adventures and family myths and tales of the clan from the elderly matriarch.

These times, in a word, were chaos.

Total chaos.

There just wasn't any other word for it. It was all Sonic could think of to call the dinners. Kids, from six to adults, were dashing from one side of the yard/field and then back in a race, other games that wheren't affected by the weather, or sneaking food from the pantry to share with those playing outside. Some mothers, aunts and grandmothers were inside making dinner for every one present. Fathers, uncles and grandfathers were either inside talking to one another or out with the younger generations in the filed to make sure things didn't get too rough, and to keep an eye on the younger kids.

But the energy and activity wouldn't really stop. Even last night, and the night before that, everyone had stayed up late, talking or playing games.

Yet, there was an undertone that Sonic had picked up from the older humans in these times. It was like they knew that they were going to lose something, or rather, someone would soon leave and they may never see him or her again. At least not for a very, very long time...

The Anthro hedgehog shaded his eyes, taking a break from playing with Jessy's younger siblings and cousins. Oh, he wasn't tired in the least, and found he really did love playing with the kids, but at the moment it was more fun to watch Jessy get stuck under a dog-pile of youths. All of which wanted her to take them on a ride on her motorcycle.

Sonic glanced back at the house, seeing that Jessy's mother, Jessica Alison Binger, was also watching the hord, but mostly her eldest and only daughter. Her dark blue eyes were sad as she watched, like she was missing her child already.

What was it that Jessy said about her family being 'cursed'? Something about a wander year (years?) and just... up and leaving when her age. Was that what everyone here was worrying about? When Jessy would leave on her own wander years and not come back like those two older brothers?

Sonic glanced back at the kids, seeing that they had gotten off of Jessy who was walking back to the house with two of her manylittle brothers. All three paused as a new car rolled into the driveway. They eyed it critically, and then the younger two yelled as Jessy yelped in turn.

"IT'S AUNTY MINI!" one of the boys shouted as the siblings ran back out into the field. The shouted warning had an instantaneous reaction with the others, who gave their own versus yelps and yells before scattering even farther into the field and forest beyond.

"Come on Bro!" Jessy said, grabbing Sonic's arm as she ran by, almost bodily dragged him with her. "We have to go! Quick, this way!"

"Quick?" Sonic said with a quirked eyebrow, he glanced behind him but the car had driven around the house so he could no longer see it. He shook his head, "You call this quick Jes'?" He demanded and, taking three long strides, he hocked his arm under Jessy's legs as he picked her up, " _This_ is quick!"

"GAH!" Jessy yelped once again as she wrapped her arms around the Anthro hedgehog's neck as he picked up speed.

"Hang on!" Sonic said smirking as he raced out of the field, some of the kids calling after.

"What do you think I'm doing!" the mechanic demanded, hiding her face from the wind, "Taking a nap!?"

"Well, you did stay up late last night…"

"Dork!"

The yank of his ear was worth it, in Sonic's opinion. Not that that wasn't a new thing, whenever the blue and brown hedgehog did something stupid now Jessy had no qualms about giving him an ear-pull. As Sonic couldn't easily be giving a back-of-the-head smack like her younger brothers. He didn't mind all things considering, because it meant that someone cared enough about him to worry, and let Sonic know when he was doing something maybe he shouldn't.

In this way, at least as long as they heard the warning in time, both Sonic and Jessy managed to avoid Aunt Mini. Normally there was a fair warning for Sonic at least, the family not wanting him to be subjected to anymore stress from those interactions.

Successful escapes from not just from Jessy's aunt, but from chaos of a bit too much family they ended up in one of two places. One being a park like place on their grandfather's property, the other being a nearby cafe that sold lunches. It took some time over the winter before the employees and the other costumers got used to Sonic. The first few interactions going something like this...

"I'll take an iced mocha and a bagel with cream cheese, please." Jessy asked a woman that was behind a counter, digging into her wallet. Beside her, Sonic had a toothy grin as he stepped forward next.

"I'll have five chilly dogs!" The anthro looked over at the display of baked good, looking for meat rolls.

"Five?" The woman blinked staring at the anthro and then glanced over at the mechanic.

"Yes please." Sonic nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet with compressed energy.

"Trust me," Jessy said seeing the other woman's baffled look, "He can put away a hellava lot more than just that." She pushed Sonic on the side of the head in play.

"Okay..." The waitress blinked.

"Claim a table would you Sonic? I'll get the food." Jessy said pointing to the side of the café that didn't have as many people in it.

"I didn't know there was Anthros this far north Miss." The waitress said, trying to get another look at Sonic as he left.

"Just coz' they don't come up often doesn't mean they can't." Jessy frowned and arched an eyebrow in a pointed.

"Oh right." The blond flushed, "Your order will be ready in a few minutes."

Shaking her head Jessy grabbed a root beer for Sonic and paid for everything before she walked over to where the hedgehog was sitting at a booth, tapping a foot impatiently.

"So what did your mom want from the store again?" he asked, referring to the phone call Jessy had gotten on her cell phone just after the two had left her Grandfather's place.

"Umm..." Jessy looked up, searching her memory, "Milk, more chicken and, uhh, cheese I think. Or was it barbeque sauce?"

"I think it was cheese." Sonic tilted one ear up and flattened the other

"Okay, cheese it is."

The two continued to talk, mostly about the last few days and what was going too happened after this weekend was over. Neither paying any attention to the few stares they were getting, though, they should have just a little. It might have saved them a great deal of hassle later on. As Sonic made it onto the internet more than a few times because of his oddity of being an Anthro in this place over the winter.

Also more than once over the winter, Sonic seemed to fully embrace the consent of hibernating. Conveniently through most of the worst of the storms he was out like a light for a day or three.

But not all the storms could Sonic get away with this, and it seemed to trigger the same nightmare. One he wrote down every time it happed on Jessy's urging, to see if any details changed as well as to help calm the anthro down after these nightmares, like what he did with memory flashbacks.

There wasn't enough of the snippets of Sonic's past to put together who he had been the year before, yet soon the hedgehog with all the distractions of the word found himself less and less concerned with the past.

In that winter, he was adopted into the Nomadic Nations at their New Year's celebration when a large convoy moved past in a migration south and to a Zone called Soleanna. It was almost at the same time as the Christmas holiday, so Sonic got a few surprise gifts and helped Jessy with making and baking gifts (and taste testing the goods of course).

Sonic learn quiet a lot by watching and helping Jessy while she worked not just on motor cycles but several gas and power stone powered vehicles. More often than not in the weekday days, the two where in the work shop over the winter and into spring.

Yet always there was that one nightmare that kept coming back, to the point that in those minutes after waking in the dark, Sonic wondered if it was more than a dream. One time when spring was struggling to take a fully hold, both Sonic and Jessy were camped out in the bunkhouse on their grandfather's property, staying the night as game of Pictionary and other such games had gone far longer than expected. The always started the same way, seeming both so familiar and different at the same time.

It was like watching a story or movie of someone else.

And it started, honestly rather boring...

Because for all rights and purposes the project should have gone off without any more hitches or glitches at this point in time. He knew this, because they (they?) had worked out the earlier problems as well as being able to snip most others at the bud.

The processes were working, most of all the subjects that went through the procedure where surviving.

Most.

He had heard about the roomers of the mass experiments, like everyone else had. Especially those of Ark and Amazon projects, but only the later had any investigations. Just remains were found, no living subjects, only traces before they were lost in the jungle zone.

But life, as well as fate, had a funny way of chucking curve balls that no one would or could possibly see coming; especially when the something was extremely important.

Anomalies were the bane of all those who studied science, specifically the science of genetic manipulations. No matter how many times you go over something or prefect it something would happen. After all, Murphy's Law not only demanded it but would enforce it, sometimes in the most unpredictable ways. Scott (that name, that name he _knew_ that name) was one of those anomalies, not intentionally though, but accidences are never on propose and hardly predictable.

This man had been a marine, one that had been assigned to a shift of simple guard duty. It didn't matter that he was in a top secret base, or how important the projects were that happened behind him and likely under his feet- hell for all he knew something like an apocalyptic super robot transforming race could be being created behind an invisible field of awesome science he didn't understand that floated in the sky above.

It.

Was.

Guard duty.

 _Blah._ Scott thought as he resisted the urge to sigh and just took a moment to reflect on how much he hated guard duty, as most did. You just _stood_ there trying to look imposing to the randomly passing lizard, not really _doing_ anything. You just stand there, and stand there, and stand around some more. Maybe get a Look from this or that person that wasn't military. Then stand there a little more...

It was frigging boring for Chaos' sake, that's what it was.

However, it might have been better to just stand there then what happened when he volunteered to do the walk about the outside of the labs. Because Scott preferred to move around if not on patrol or scouting duty.

If Scott hadn't done that then he would have been spared much pain, physically and mentally. Then again, if he hadn't gone then he would not have been, in essence and perhaps physically in some ways, freed. Despite how corny that may seem it would turn out to be very true... though in this dream like state nether ne, nor the dreamer was aware of this.

From one step as the guard, to the next the boring dream surged into that nightmare of whit-hot pain. Something that burned and dissolved. It shifted and changed his body. It drowned and engulfed him completely.

_"Run..."_

It was always changing with that burning pain there through it all. That eternity that lasted no more than five minutes even though it seemed like five million years.

_"Get away from here...!"_

Parts evaporated and others grew, lengthened and became harder.

_"Run!"_

Thoughts changed too. Some things becoming less important as others surged to the forefront of his mind. Still other thought and memories faded away into noting, forever lost.

_"Escape."_

Dilated green eyes opened and stared ahead in the ever lasting whiteness that surrounded him.

_"Get out of here!"_

Those same eyes became clearer, sharper as the rest of his form changed.

_"RUUUN!"_

Sonic's eyes snapped open and he gave a strangled sound that was half yell, half sob and he fought against the blankets that where tangled up in his limbs and quills.

"Sonic?" Jessy lifted her head, jerking awake herself as the anthro in the bunk next to her's cried out. She stared at him before jerking again. "Sonic!" A hand grabbed his shoulder and the hedgehog gave a yelp and tried again to get free from his tangle.

"Sonic! Calm down, its Jessy..." Wincing as a few of his quills scraped her cheek, hands and arms as Jessy all but crawled over the bunks to pounce on the somewhat smaller Anthro. The woman wrapped her arms around him and under his ridged quills in a tight hug before yelling just loud enough in a fuzzy ear, "Sonic!"

He gasped gripping the fabric of the human's pajamas as the hedgehog slowly came back to the awareness of where he was: The bunk room Sonic and Jessy were sharing as they stayed at her grandfather's. The still too fresh memory of the dream (nightmare? ...memory?) made the blue anthro shiver, his long quills rattling slightly as he pushed his face into his friend's shoulder.

Jessy looked down at her now brother...was he crying? _He's scared._ She thought, seeing how the hedgehog hid both his face and belly from the world and whatever had scared him. _That must have been some nightmare._

"Hey...shhhh, its okay Sonic. It was just a dream." The woman said tightening her hug when Sonic's grip didn't loosen and rocked a little, shifting to stretch out beside him. Big sister and hints of maternal instincts kicking in as she freed a hand to rub behind one of Sonic's ears, but stayed in that tight cuddle that helped in this almost rare reaction, "Shhh, it's over bro, it's was just a dream. It can't hurt you now."

Sonic kept his eyes closed as he shook his head against Jessy's shoulder, "Wasn't." he mumbled into the shirt. Jessy paused and looked down at him again. Then she rested her head by his ear and began to rock again, knowing that the Anthro needed reassurance to calm down.


	12. Hit the road, but keep your head down!

"Here," Jessy said as she offered Sonic a mug, coming back from inside the main house behind them. It was still full on dark out, the dawn still a few hours away. Though the air was a bit nippy, and the woman could see her breath, Sonic seem to almost give off steam. It was like he had been forced to run at a high gear when immobile, running too-hot internally when he had that particular nightmare.

It was why she put extra sugar and whole cream in Sonic's drink, to help the shaking shivers he had. Jessy was just starting to have a grasp on the hedgehog's honestly freakish metabolism, so guessed he would need a bit of a boost from all the energy he was burning this morning.

Sonic looked up and gave a half smile before taking a cup of hot tea from Jessy as the woman sat down beside him in the other lawn chair on the back porch. "Thanks Jes…" he said, watcher her tug her thick riding jacket around her more to stay warm.

"What are big sisters for?" she smiled back at him, yawning wide before sipping her own tea, "Mmmm... Nana sure knows what plants to use to make this stuff."

"You're not _really_ my sister." The hedgehog raised an eyebrow.

"Hah." The young woman snorted, leaning back to look up at the cloud cover above and a few speckled clear spots that let some stares in, "Nana called you one of her great grandsons, and if _she_ says so then you're a part of this family. Not just the clan Sonic."

Sonic looked up, startled but in a different way, "...I am?"

"Yeah, you're my hedgehog brother now." Jessy held out her hand over the gap between the lawn chairs, palm up. "But as you know stay away from Aunty Mini..."

"Killer Aunty you mean." Sonic said dryly before taking another few drinks of his tea. It was a little too sweet but he wouldn't say anything, and from the way he was drinking he wasn't noticing the heat. The anthro shifted hand and reached out to grasp Jessy's hand, tanking the comfort.

"To right!" Jessy tilted her head back again and laughed, but not that loud.

A more normal smile came to the Anthro's face as he chuckled and squeezed Jessy's, "...thanks."

"Like I said, that's what sisters are for." The woman said and they started to settle down, sonic letting go to fumble with a small note book and pencil.

_Thwap!_

Both Sonic and Jessy paused and looked down at the small metallic dart that had imbedded it's self into the arm of Sonic's chair. Where his arm had been before reaching for the dropped pencil.

For a moment nothing happened as the two blinked at the thing, Jessy just plane stared not really grasping what it was at first let alone what the dart was for. It looked like a tranquilizer dart but why on earth would one be here? It just didn't make sense to her. Perhaps it was because she was lacking her normal caffeine amount to be fully awake yet, and being about three in the morning.

Sonic on the other hand wasn't so slow, he may have been deep in thought after the memory/nightmare but he was still wide awake. The sudden appearance of the dart had not only set off all the alarm bells and red flags in his head but another memory, one he _knew_ , not just a snippet from his forgotten past. Humans had hunted him in that first week, before he came this far north from the deserts. In fact, that was one of the primary reasons why Sonic didn't trust humanity on a large scale.

Now those humans from so long were apparently back, because Sonic recognized that dart design and the tiny emblem on it. This time it wasn't just the anthro hedgehog at risk. His new _family_ was here, grandpa, nana, the crazy old uncles and aunty with so many stories from their wander years, and the kids in the mane house...

Sonic's ears twitched up as his whole body tensed and his mind shifted possessing gears as he heard someone curse in the dark. Then the audible, to him at least with those impressive ears, clicking of guns.

"Jessy look out!"

Jessy (who's reflexes where almost nothing in comparison to Sonic's) hardly realized what was said before she found herself being pushed down behind an upturned table, let alone what was happening. "Ahh! What the h-?!"

"Jessy we need to get out of here!" Sonic said crouching over his friend, one hand hovering over her head the other on her back as his quills lifted and spread out as if they would protect both of them from the darts. "Jessy!"

"Downhill, through the field to the far right corner, there's a path." The woman said fully awake, snapping to with the nomad reflex of her ancestors now that her life was apparently at risk. "It goes to the old riverbed but-ACK!"

Lightning-quick the large hedgehog picked his adopted sister up and bolted around the house, past Jessy's parked motorcycle. Another startled soldier who was far too slow was now enjoying a forced nap as he was basically ran over by a less than impressed anthro. Loose grass and drew flew up as a sonic boom rolled over the field and back up to the house where lights were being turned on.

Jessy half curled up in an attempt at making herself more stream line with Sonic... Okay so she was hiding her face in his shoulder. Hey, can't blame a girl for being a little scared, it helps to keep you alive after all.

Abruptly Sonic turned sideways and skidding to a stop just before jumping back a little, "Oh, _no..._ "

"What? What is it?!" Jessy looked up and around, half expecting something to jump out and eat them at this point. She sighed when all that was there was filmier trees, banks and the old wide river... though it was a bit overflowing…and going faster then she'd seen it go in several years...

Hmm. Looked like all that rain they had been having that winter was flooding the rivers. Again.

"I _hate_ water."

Jessy looked up at the hedgehog's scowl, "Well, it's not _that_ bad. I know where it's shallow… or should be shallower."

Sonic looked down at her, "You want to _cross_ that?"

"It's the fastest way home, there's not a bridge for miles either way." She paused, "I'm assuming home yes..."

"Units three and four! We spotted them!"

The blue Anthro was gone before the man had finished speaking, those fuzzy blue ears coming in handy once again. "Bridge it is!" Sonic yelped, a still little strung out from his nightmare not long ago, "Bridge, bridge, bridge, bridge..."

"Sonic! LEFT!" Jessy yelled, since the hedgehog wasn't going so fast as to bur her vision.

"…bridge- Why? Oh."

Sonic jerked to the left in a sharp turn to avoid hitting a parked van and leapt onto a wonderful thing called a paved road, leaving a streak of blue behind for a moment or less. The road allowed him to run at full speed on the smooth blacktop without the risk of tipping up. Normally he could correct any miss steps in the woods as long as there wasn't speed limit signs, but he had the extra weight of a passenger right now. The blue and brown hedgehog tightened his hold reflexively on Jessy at the thought of tripping, even though the woman was doing a wonderful impression of a starved leech all on her own. He had never run this fast when carrying someone, however Sonic seemed to be doing okay, as was Jessy.

All things considering, they were still in the flimsy fabrics of pajamas.

A few minutes later, and a near-miss with stop sign, Sonic once again skidded, but only to slow down so when he did stop he didn't run head long into the door to Jessy's apartment. Putting the woman down on her feet he zipped off again with a barely heard, "I'm going to look around! Berightback!"

Jessy blinked a few times in bafflement, staggering as her equilibrium was all catawampus and having to grasp at the rails of her small second story front door porch. Then she thought it might be best that she get inside when Jess swore she heard someone yell faintly that wasn't in the tones of her closest nabors. Fumbling for the spare key in her jacket- her main ring hanging inside her grandfather's kitchen key locker (to keep brothers from taking them and joy riding her motor cycle) the mechanic opened the door and ran inside, slamming it closed behind her.

Yet something wasn't right. Jessy paused half way through the living room/kitchen. Something in the back of her mind was waving red flags and screaming, but at the same time nothing looked out of place. Shaking her head Jessy peered around carefully but still couldn't see what was wrong.

_I have to get out of here, go somewhere else!_

For once she didn't push back that other part of herself that had been craving to just _leave_ and not look back all winter, almost all year. Well, not entirely. The woman bee-lined for her room, intending on grabbing her backpack at least, some clothing (other than the Chaos-awful pink and orange pajamas that made her nana happy) and two pouches that would hock on to one of Jessy's other motorcycles, preferably Big Boy, as that was the one she had been planning on using for her wander years. As well as some food on the way out again...

Jessy was inside the dark room, reaching for the light switch when what was _wrong_ finally clicked into place. The front door. Only the bottom had been locked, and she _knew_ that she had locked the dead bolt as well because it tried to eat her key yesterday.

"Aw _crap!_ "

More or less sliding on the floor the woman tried to backtrack and turn around at the same time. Jessy let out a short scream as a large hand grabbed her arm and pulled the opposite way of which she wanted to go at the moment: back into the room.

"Oh no you don't woman!" a gravely voice barked.

"Letmego!" Jessy twisted the take a swing.

"No way, if you've been with Scott all this time, or any length of time, Greavenson is gonna' want you too." Another hand clamped down on her other shoulder before she was put into a headlock after struggling too much.

Instinct born over hundreds of generations of nomads who had to defend themselves (as well as having to fight to survive so now it was almost a genetic memory) kicked in. It also helped that Jessy had brothers, not just a few brothers, but _brothers._ Two older brothers, six younger ones and now another, _all_ of whom loved to wrestle. And there had been several restless nights when Sonic and Jessy had scuffled out right for the last bit of dinner in tough-fun (though Sonic normally won with his speed).

Grabbing the arm that had her Jessy tucked her chin in and bit down on it, though not going easy like she would with family. At the same time the woman dropped she pulled her legs up, crossed at the ankles to use tried to use her smaller size to her advantage as she jerked her feet back so not only throwing this intruder's balance off but...

"Hrk-graaaahhhhhhh…." The man gave a strangled sound as something very tender on his anatomy was shown just how tender it could be with a lucky 'kick' of work-boot heels.

Jessy was out of his hold and scrabbling for something ( _anything!_ ) that could be used as a weapon. Her figures closed around something round and hard, it was the baseball bat she had forgotten to bring to the dinner at her grandfather's for the game that was played in the evening.

That would do!

The man was getting up again. Well you had to give him points for recovering quickly.

"You're trespassing on privet property!" Jessy said as she got a grip on the bat in her shadow so it was harder for the man to see it. Again some other part of her instints were guiding her thinking process.

"You're gonna pay for that Tinker-"

_BANG!_

Jessy lifted her bat but before she could do anything more then start to swing and overbalance herself with no target, something dark blue rammed into the man, driving him away from her. Robbed of a target the woman blinked. "Sonic?" she asked as the blur became a more familiar shape.

"Leave her alone human!" The large hedgehog ripped a gun away from the intruder and tossed it aside, blunted claws still scraping. Sonic glared down at the man he was holding by the collar, his quills lifted off his shoulders again to make him seem bigger as he demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"S-Scott?" The man's eyes went wide as he looked at the Anthro.

Emerald green eyes narrowed at the name and vague images played in the back of his mind for a moment. Sonic frowned, "What did you just call me…?"

"Scott, Sergeant Scott-"

Sonic shook his head, cutting off the stranger, "Wrong hedgehog. My name's Sonic and I'm not a part of the military. Now what are you doing-"

"Sonic look out!" Jessy yelped a warning when she saw what was in the intruder's hand.

Once again the anthro's reflexes proved to be faster than a human's. A rather large dart was now happily pumping its self into the man's left leg instead of the intended fuzzy target. The man slid to the ground a moment later when Sonic let go of him.

A set of wide blue eyes peered over Sonic's shoulder as the owner of those eyes had a death grip on her bat.

"You okay sis?" Sonic asked as he looked over his shoulder at his adoptive sister.

"...Yeah, I'm good." The mechanic paused and added, "I might need a hug later but I'm good."

"We should go."

"Where?" Jessy asked, still keeping herself behind the hedgehog and away from the man even though he was unconscious. Hey, she was just attacked in her own home! She had the right to be jumpy!

"Somewhere that's not here." Sonic said reaching for some spare gloves in the dresser.

"Point."

"I'll check down stairs just in case."

"I'll get some supplies, check my bike too? Big Boy."

"Sure."

With that Sonic was gone. Jessy eyed the unconscious man one more time before kicking it into high gear herself and started packing. She was shoving the last of her saved money, Coins and the food that wouldn't spoil (someone from her family would come get the perishables for sure after what had happed earlier) when Sonic came back.

"Okay every looks fine," he said holding something out, "Here's your jacket."

"Thanks. Take these two bags down, I need to grab a couple of towels and blankets and I'll be right down." Jessy said nodding at the full bags as she shrugged her thick riding jacket on.

"Right."

Jessy grabbed the two best looking towels, two blankets that looked both strong and warm as well as a saddle blanket, and a bit more food just in case along with her sensor suit to change into later. Pausing to look longingly at her bed and the great big brown comforter before turning and grabbing up the stack of notebooks by the couch, though not noticing one was missing. She was downstairs within a minute and both where on the road a lot faster than they thought they would, or could be.

Sonic rested his chin between his friend's shoulder blades, his now gloved hands gripping the riding jacket as he streamlined himself with Jessy to reduce any drag. His quills were swept nearly rippling with the wind behind him. It was about now, with a few miles between them and the house that both human and Anthro started to relax.

"Hey bro?" Jessy yelled over the rushing air as she went well over the posted speed limit, picking a random direction on impulse.

"Yeah?" Sonic called back, wanting his ear piece and wondering if Jessy grabbed the spare that could link with her helmet.

"Why, why did that guy call you Scott?" Jessy risked a glance back to try and see Sonic's face as she felt him tense behind her. "Sonic? Bro, you okay?"

"I, I don't know." The hedgehog shifted, ears flattening as he pushed his forehead against Jessy's shoulder blade and muttered to himself, "I know that name…"

The woman rolled her shoulder at him, the best she could do at the moment. Trying to be reassuring and keep them up right so they don't crash, and was rewarded with a head thump on her back. Sonic was in deep enough though that he didn't get off to run on his own, for now safe from speed limit signs while he chewed out his thoughts.

Who were those people?

Sonic knew, without knowing how but he _knew_ that wasn't military, not really. Former military, but... mercenary?

But why would someone want to sick mercenaries on _him_ and a nomadic nations family? That what happened was beyond the normal animosity towards either nomads or anthros that Sonic had seen over the near year.

The hedgehog finally looked down at his dark blue fur, frowning as he turned his arm a bit, then looked down at his chest, wondering for the first time how he was blue, when most hedgehogs he had seen, both feral and those pictures online of some anthros in zones, where all mostly in shades of browns, tan and grey-white. Could that be a part of why those men were after him?

"Ugh..." Sonic muttered, not for the last time in the coming summer wanted things cleared up or to go away.

"Need to go?" Jessy called as she slowed down, eyes on a rest stop sign as they had been traveling for an hour according to her helmet's display. After all that happened her bladder was protesting, since before the twisted chase it had been night, and a long time in other words since she went to the bathroom.

The hedgehog shrugged, looking around in the dark with his ears pricked up, "Go ahead Jes' I'm going to look around, just in case." He scooting back and hopped off the big motorcycle as it slowed to a comparative crawl in the rest stop.

"Oy," the mechanic turned to look over at Sonic as he trotted easily to keep up, giving himself a shake that rattled quills, "Be careful Blue."

The hedgehog tossed off a two finger salute, "Of course!" He turned and loped off into the night, his darker coloration letting him blend in fairly well.

Jessy kicked the stand so her ride was propped up before going inside one of the buildings in the rest stop cluster. She made it a fe steps before coming back, digging into the saddle bags on either side of the large motorcycle, Jessy looked around for and found a plat, only to stop and pause.

"Huh... how did...?" Jessy turned the play around in her hands, and then smiled, "Big Mac," she read the small sticky note on the plate, rubbing a thumb across it. She knew instantly her eldest brother's hand writing, and knew the numbers on the plat was his. Mark must have switched his spare with hers the year before when he stayed a night for a meal and shower.

Quietly thanking her brother, and face palming that she never noticed the switch, Jessy grabbed a few tools and switched her plate with her brother's spare. Then patted the seat after putting hers' away, "Looks like you're the Big Mac know, named after the big brother. Not bad."

Taking a deep breath Jessy headed into the bathroom, changing so her sensor suit was on under her cloths, and wearing some warmer paints then the jammies. Jessy came back out zipping up her jacket, looked around and as Sonic wasn't back yet, took a snoop about. Ending up walking her motorcycle to one of the farthest back of the semi buildings in the rest stop. Not insolated like the bathrooms, but it blocked the breeze, and more importantly had a roof in case it rained or drizzled.

Sitting on the seat, looking around at the wooden shelter, meant for protecting travelers that wanted lunch and to stretch their legs during long car rides. Sifting to balance on her spot with legs crossed, Jessy soon was staring out into space, wondering for the first time what she was doing.

Why had she just...lift?

Jessy knew she should be heading straight north to the main Storm Runner Convoy, or southeast to the Rain Walkers... but although there was a relief to be suddenly _moving_ at last, the mechanic, the nomad didn't want to go to one stop, not one destination but all of them.

She was on the road now and wanted to just go until it stopped, then beyond it path. Find new routes, and things that, if not never been seen before than things that hadn't been seen in a very, very long time.

Wondering if this was what the 'curse' was about, finding oneself not guilty about suddenly just up and leaving behind family and friends. Jessy found herself more upset that she wasn't bothered by that then the sudden attack.

Sonic trotted back into the rest stop, the hedgehog slowed to a walk as he looking for the motorcycle or the woman. For a moment of fear he tensed up, going still before something caught the attention of his ears. Rotating them around and listened intently, he tracked down the sound as Jessy humming from over...there.

Trotting over to the back building Sonic poked his head in carefully, relaxing once seeing Jessy.

"Looks clear." He said to the woman sitting on the bike as well, sitting so the would be back to back with room.

Jessy jumped at his voice and looked up, her hum stopped blue eyes still wide and fear had finally set in after a delay. "Err...wha?"

"Jes'?" Sonic frowned and shifted closer to her, so their shoulders where against each other. "What's wrong?"

"I, I don't know." The mechanic shook her head, not fully what to admit about her thoughts fully yet, looking down at her lap. "Just shaken up I guess."

"It's okay sis. I won't let them hurt you." The dark blue and brown anthro said wrapping an arm around his adoptive sister's shoulders. Jessy shifted and rested her head on his shoulder. After a minute she looked up into the hedgehog's concerned green gaze.

"…can I have that hug now?" she asked slowly.

Sonic blinked, but turned around on the motorcycle and wrapped both arms around the human and pulled her into at tight hug in answer. Jessy carefully wrapped her own arms under the quills on Sonic's back, returning the hug as the Anthro made a purring sound from somewhere in his chest.

"I won't let them hurt you." Sonic repeated himself, making it a promise as he rubbed the side of his head against his sister's in an instinctual way of reassurance.

* * *


	13. Calming down, kinda...

_White-hot pain. It burned from the inside out. Shifting, twisting, and churning inside of him. It burned away his body and at the same time changed it. He was becoming shorter but also becoming stronger, leaner, faster..._

_He screamed._

_It felt good to scream, to release the pain. His scream told the world large that it hurt. Yet, even as it hurt, there was something else in the fire…_

_His back arched and he came out of the ball he had curled into, still-forming quills stood up on end._

_He was still burning in white and blue flames. He was still changing..._

_Dilated, dark green eyes snapped open and stared into the nothingness._ _He screamed again as another wave of Chaos power burned away the last of his old body._

Sonic gasped and jerked upright, his blue quills lifting as his emerald gaze darted around the rest stop, the blanket he'd been using half falling off his improvised bed. He saw no one but Jessy there, and the mechanic was half draped over her motorcycle, using her own blanket as a pillow, snuggled into her thick riding jacket to stay warm with the collar up and hands tucked into her sleeves.

The anthro hedgehog sighed and lifted a hand to rub his eyes, and then temples to get rid of the headache that trying to start. With Jessy asleep he didn't want to wake her up to get a good ear rub to get rid of it.

What was with that dream? Sonic wondered as he got up to walk around the covered shelter they were staying in to calm down. The repetitive motions of walking was calming and let Sonic think better when moving. Why did he keep having that dream?

...Or was it truly a just dream at all? It felt more and more real each time it played in his mind's eye. It also became clearer almost to the point where Sonic could have sworn that he could feel the heat.

On impulse Sonic moved to the bike, quietly opening one of the saddle bags and pulled out a note book. With the pen in the binding he retreated to his bench to sit and started writing out the dream like he did with memories. Five pages later Sonic had calmed down enough that the dream, nightmare didn't bother him as much. Enough that he put the book back and pulled another bench as quietly as possible so two where side by side.

The soft snores from Jessy stopped, and drew Sonic's gaze and he watch as the woman shifted, sleepily stretching out her left leg to relive a possible cramp before relaxing…and started to tilt… A white gloved hand caught her shoulder and another grabbed the jacket before pulling back. Carefully Sonic picked the human up, smiled as she gave a sleepy grumble as she woke up just enough to walk to the benches.

Sonic darted back to grab the blanket, "Chaos Jessy, you're going to fall like that." He sighed, settling down beside her on his first bench. Sonic lasted all of five minutes before giving into the childish want and cuddled against his adoptive sister, using her heartbeat to keep the nightmares away like he did in the worst thunder and rain storms the winter before.

Of course Jessy had fell back to sleep. She was also just this side of the dead so she wasn't even aware of what was going on until she woke up the next morning. She cracked one blue eye open, and then the other, lifting her head off the bench blinking owlishly around. Then down to the warm lump against her side.

...okay _where_ had Sonic come from?

Wait, he had been sleeping on the bench first right? Jessy racked her fogged up mind for the answer to her question. The woman blushed, thinking that she had somehow moved over here on her own. As the last clear thing she remembered was dosing off on her motorcycle.

"Okay..." The woman muttered softly as she shifted, and then shifted again, a wriggle was needed, then Jessy paused wait for Sonic to drift off again… shift, move a little here aaaaaaaand... she was free!

_Thump._

"Ouch…" Jessy muttered into the ground, feeling the first tinges of exasperation as after all that her foot had caught up in something, the blanket, and thus tripped her up.

"Wha? Hey Jes' you alright?" Sonic's sleepy voice from somewhere above and behind her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said as she rolled over and sat up. Jessy grasped the fuzzy hand that was offered by the anthro and let him help pull her back to her feet.

"I'm hungry." The hedgehog declared out of the blue and poked at the bag he thought the food was in.

"I'll make us something after I get some coffee…" Jessy grabbed her wallet to see how much cash she had.

Sonic snitched five dollars and with a, "Be back in a flash!" ran out of the rest stop the two had spent the night at.

Jessy lifted her hand to her head, trying to keep her hair from going every-which-way in the wind the hedgehog kicked up. She blinked a few times then let out a bark of laughter, and again when Sonic returned a little later with two Starbucks after she'd packed up.

This seemed to spawn a new pattern for the next few days, traveling in the day, finding a place to catch some sleep before a hunt for coffee. There was no rush, more so after Jessy admitted that she didn't want to go back, she had stalled her wander years long enough. Sonic had no trouble, and wanted to stay with her, with family but also explor as well.

It wasn't like they were isolated either, alone on the road. By the fourth day Jessy had proven that she wasn't aimlessly wondering, as she took them to a nomad camp, the trailers currently at rest in a rented lot while the families got supplies or scouted good work as well as setting up at a farmers market to sell and trade goods. From there Sonic and Jessy went on a power-stone hunt, looking for something bigger then coin sized that wouldn't cost money.

Then with a fair number of charged stones, instructions of where to go next (plus enough meat rolls for dinner and fallowing breakfast), Jessy set the heading to cosine she knew of, not blood related, that was a mechanic and had his own shop with his wife. There she was hoping to convert the newly renamed Mac, the large motorcycle away from gas entirely and to run off power stones.

Until then, they still needed to stop in at gas stations.

"Wow!" Jessy's yelp of surprise was slightly muffled her helmet but Sonic still heard it as he had a modified ear piece in.

"What is it?" The hedgehog asked, slowing his pace as Jessy started to slow down and pull her motorcycle into a gas station.

"I haven't seen gas this low in a long time." Jessy said after she parked and pulled off the helmet.

Sonic made a noncommittal sound as he hopped up onto the motorcycle and half laid down on it after Jessy got off. He made face at the smell of the gasoline after Jessy poked his feet to get to the tank. The blue hedgehog sighed and started to tap one foot against the side of the other as he waited.

"How long is this going to take?" the Anthro asked glancing up at the woman.

Jessy kept her eyes on the pump as she answered, "Not long bro." she said, not bothered that this question was asked every time they stopped to fill up.

Sonic shifted, propping his feet up on one of the handle bars of the motorcycle as Jessy left to pay. The hedgehog watched the mechanic through the station's windows. He started to tap a finger, unable to hold still for long. He wanted to go, to move, to _run_ , yet Sonic kept himself in check. Yes, he did want to go but he also wanted Jessy to come along.

She was family now. That was something Sonic never had before that he knew of, and he could wait a few minutes for a sister. He hadn't said it aloud but he _loved_ the fact that first Jessy then the rest of her family had adopted him into their mists. It had been something he had always wanted, to be a part of a family. To be safe, to have a place where he was not only welcome but could come to whenever he wanted or needed help. Being well fed was a wonderful bonus too!

Even if picks were a bit slimmer right now than they were before the still unknown ambush attack on them.

A black vehicle pulled into the gas station, making one of Sonic's ears twitch back at the sound of tires rolling on gravel. Two emerald green eyes glanced over lazily at the car.

_He was stepping out of a black sedan after two others into the hot sun of central California. A large facility, with massive labs deep underground, waited for a new shift of arm guards._

Sonic blinked and sat up. His legs dropping to either side of the motorcycle and his feet dangled just above the ground. The hedgehog Anthro tracked the minivan with his eyes. He only relaxed when a family of four, plus a baby, climbed out.

Sonic smiled and waved at the two kids who just spotted him. They stared a moment, one shyly waving back, before darting back too Mom and Dad. Normally the hedgehog would grin and show off a bit, but he was a little preoccupied with that snapshot of a memory.

He knew it was him getting out of the car, yet something didn't add up. Something was off in the memory that did not match up with the him of 'now.' It was how he _moved_ , or didn't move. Sonic frowned as he placed what was wrong.

In the memory, he wasn't being mindful of his longer quills let alone the sensitive tail.

Said tail twitched and the end started to tap a rhythm out on the seat behind him. Sonic looked back at it, frowning and trying to imagine what it would be like without a tail, but couldn't.

"Okay ready!" Jessy said coming back and broke Sonic's train of thought. "Stop staring at your tail, its attached still. Let's go, move back or run."

Sonic braced his hands on the seat in front of him and scooted back to let Jessy on. He waited a moment to let the mechanic start the Mac before Sonic latched onto her. The hedgehog wrapped his arms around her middle, catching Jessy's riding jacket in a tight grip as he propped his chin on her shoulder; streamlining himself with her.

"Let's go Jes'."

"Okay but I need to breath!"

It was that evening when Sonic spoke up about what was bothering him

"Flashbacks?" Jessy quirked an eyebrow up at the blue and brown hedgehog after he asked her what she knew of memory loss and having flashbacks. The woman took a bite of her tuna sandwich as she passed another to Sonic for their late lunch. This was far from the first time they had this discussion, and even know Sonic was writing something down before delving into his sandwich.

They were at another rest stop, one that had a small cliff face and that over looked a healthy looking forest, Jessy had parked her motorcycle back near the bathrooms, within sight. Both were enjoying the sun and talk seemed unable to stay on one topic for long until now.

"I'm sorry Sonic I don't know that much other then you have to let it come on its own." Jessy said, "You know what Red said just as much as I do."

"What if I don't want to remember?" Sonic asked leaning back on the picnic table they were sitting at. "Some, most really, of what I have been remembering isn't very…nice."

"Well, I don't know what to say to that, sorry Sonic." Jessy frowned but reached over to ruffle the fur between his ears, trying her best to be comforting without smothering him like some members of her family might (coughcoughAuntyMinicough).

Sonic shock his head to clear it, his quills swaying from one side to another in a secondary movement. "Oh well." He shrugged it off; he was getting very good at that now, instead shifted closer to get a welcomed ear-rub at. After a minute the anthro tipped both his ears up as he eyed the half of sandwich that Jessy still had left.

Jessy blinked, not knowing the danger.

Sonic bolted and Jessy yelped as he hopped up and stopped right behind her. One blue arm that was stronger then it looked, pinned her right arm to her side and Sonic used his other hand to take the sandwich half.

"Ah!" Jessy yelped, "That's _mine_ Sonic!"

"Not anymore!" the hedgehog said leaping backwards out of reach as Jessy scrambled after him.

"Give it back, please?" The woman asked.

"No can do Sis."

"Sonic!"

"Mmmmm…" Sonic mumbled as he took a bite.

"Ahhh! Don't _eat_ it!"

"Mmm? Vhy? It vood."

"It's mine!" Jessy insisted as she ran after the hedgehog.

"Not anymore." Sonic swallowed his mouthful.

"…Grrr!"

"OH! Too slow Jes'!"

"Come back here!"

"Missed me!"

"Sonic!"

"Come on Sis, I know you're not _this_ slow."

"Oooo…! When I get my hands on you, you hyper hedgie-" The mechanic growled out, she had thought _this_ brand of sibling rivalry was well and truly gone when her elder bothers had left those years ago. She was about to bring up the threat, promis of not making any food for Sonic for the next few weeks when the impromtue game was interrupted by a shock wave and a deeper then thunder...

**_~BOOM!~_ **

"-AHH!" Both human and anthro yelled, balance disturbed by the shock wave.

"Jessy!" Sonic grabbed a fistful of the mechanic's riding jacket and yanked; pulling her safely back away from the small cliff's edge and into his blue and brown chest. Sonic tightened his grip on his adopted sister as both of them regained their feet and stared with wide eyes at the large, dark mushroom cloud of smoke that was forming over the forest below.

"Sonic…?"

"Whoa…"

Sonic's quills lifted up and spread out to either side slightly as he focused in on something. Jessy felt him tense, it was her only warning she had before Sonic lifted her into his arms and took off. With another yelp Jessy ducked her head down into Sonic's shoulder to hide from the worst of the wind. She couldn't hear the secondary explosion at first thanks to the wind that was shielding them from almost all sounds outside the cocoon of air that formed around Sonic when he was truly running. The anthro hedgehog jumped and landed on a branch half way up a tree. They both looked back the way they came at what was left of that part of the cliff they had been standing on.

"What the hell?!" the two yelled in unison.

"Hang on!" Sonic added as he jumped again; this time pulling Jessy tightly close into his chest and middle so he could curl around her, using his quills to protect both of them from falling rocks, dirt and wood chunks. Some pieces of wood were on fire!

The hedgehog landed on his feet and took off again. A sonic boom rolled through the forest after a streak of dark blue. The blue streak that was Sonic made abrupt U-turn, ignoring Jessy's rather loud protests as he headed straight to whatever had been firing _missiles_ at them. With his anthro ears, Sonic had heard the fear filled scream that Jessy couldn't over the wind.

The blue and brown hedgehog slide to a stop in a large, unnatural clearing, some husks of trees were burning away off to the sides. Sonic lost his grip on Jessy's legs, so now they were standing side by side with his arms wrapped around her middle, when he got a good look at what they were up against.

From between the massive robot's legs the two could see a petite, _pink_ , anthro hedgehog on the ground. A large hammer of sorts was not far away from her, like she may have dropped it.

She spotted them as the robot lifted a mace-like 'hand' over its head, " _Help me!_ " the female hedgehog cried as she tried to back away.

Jessy managed to sum everything in the situation up quite nicely in just two words herself. "Oh _crap._ "

* * *


	14. Just a little exercise

Amy Rose had always known that there was no such thing as Knights. Well, at least those that saved the day and swept up their love in real life. Even if she did daydream about being saved by, and falling in love with a knight in shining armor every now and again when she was working in her garden or was cooking for her and her new family. It had always been just that, a dream. Nothing real, just a fantasy she liked to visit sometimes on her own, or with young Cream in silly games.

Even today, a day that turned out to be both the worst and luckiest day of her life. Amy had not thought she would be saved by a Knight. Not until that last, horrible moment where the anthro Hunter Robot was about to crush her flat. She could see the mace like hunk of metal in place of a hand, could see it descending on and almost over her.

Then it happened.

He literally came out of nowhere. One second he wasn't there then the next he was, curled into a powerful spin attack and driving the massive Hunter robot back. Abruptly he was gone again, only to reappear beside the female anthro.

Amy yelp as she suddenly found herself moving, and not under her own power but in the arms of the other anthro.

When Amy was able to pull her face out of the spot between his neck and shoulder, she found herself staring into the clearest, brightest emerald green eyes she had ever seen, nothing like her own green eyes. He glanced down at her for a moment to see if she was alright then focused back on running at this impossible speed. Amy was almost completely lost in those eyes and knew that she was blushing rather deeply but couldn't stop. Nor stop the near instantaneous crush feelings starting under her ribcage.

The male hedgehog shifted his grip on her, completely unaware of the spell he had made as he stopped, setting Amy down on her feet.

"Are you okay?" He asked, supporting the female as she wavered, used to doing this now with anyone he just ran with.

His voice wasn't quite as deep as Amy's dream Knight's had been but it was still very nice. Amy shyly nodded her head as she looked up at the other hedgehog, still more then aware of her blushes. He frowned slightly but accepted her nod with one of his own.

His dark blue quills were wild and windswept back into clumps, with lighter, sky blue steaks running through. Most of all his fur was that same dark indigo color of his long quills, his belly, lower chest, mussel and inner ears were a rich brown. Unlike Amy, who was wearing a dress, he didn't have any clothes on except a pair of well warn red and white sneakers. He also had a pair of knuckle gloves on that covered his hand and wrists. Both shoes looked like they could be replaced soon, but still had life in them for now. He was about a few inches taller than she was, seeming even taller than he was with his flared out quills.

There was something about him that Amy couldn't place as the two stared at one another. She, with wide and nearly starry eyes getting herself on cloud number nine. He, looking at her curiously, he had never seen more than a few other anthros, and those had been lupine based, and no other hedgehog ones.

"Thank you for saving me...?" The light pink hedgehog hesitated, not knowing his name. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe his name or maybe to say that she was welcome, but a scream made both snap back to reality and caused him to spin around.

"SOOOONIC!" A woman yelled from back in the clearing.

"Sis!" The other anthro almost paled under his fur for a brief moment.

Amy realized what that 'something' from before was as Sonic the Hedgehog crouched, his muscles tensing. It was in that spit second, just before Sonic took off at an unnatural speed.

She found the impossible. She found something, someone _better_ than a knight in shining armor.

Amy Rose just found a _hero_.

So it was the worst possible day in her life, as her home and roommates had been attacked by the Hunter robot, but also the best because the world proved that a hero could really exist.

Amy looked back at the forced made clearing she had been in a minute ago. The semi crushed remains of her own car and a few others were to her right, under the still standing trees where the Hunter Robot had been dumping them from taking from the roadway above. A few trees had been knocked over a while ago, to make room for the mech as well as another, though now deactivated second mech. Amy had called it a 'grabber' as it was the thing that had started to pull Amy out of her car, but it hadn't expected anthro strength, or that the girl wouldn't be fully paralyzed with fear.

Amy had a very dense muscles, a little more than normal for an anthro, so she had damaged the grabber-mech before the Hunter showed up. Now the massive mech had a new target down below.

Before Sonic had left at the yell, a few minutes before Jessy gave a yelp and dove to her right and ran in between the giant robot's legs. Pausing as she was lost from sight, the mech didn't seem to be able to know what to do. It was probably around three stories tall; the main body was mostly triangle in shape as was the head. Its arms were long so the mace-like 'hands' could rest on the ground. The legs were quite stubby in comparison to the body.

 _This is an anime show gone wrong._ Jessy thought as she used the few moments she had before the robot finally thought to turn around. She looked around franticly for something, anything... There!

The mechanic bolted and scooped up a large stick.

"Err…nah." She tossed the piece of wood away, it had looked stronger then it turned out to be.

A mental chant of, ' _WhatdoIdo?! WhatdoIdo?!'_ echoed in Jessy's mind as was forced to dodged the impossible reality of a _giant robot of death_ that, apparently, wanted to squish her. Then that mental mantra was interrupted as she found something a bit better than a stick.

Grinning, Jessy almost stepped on the stick and all but pounced on a long, thin piece of scrap metal that must have come from those piles of metal to her right. Not bothering to think of what the scrap piles were at the moment she ran. Why? The Hunter Robot had the bright idea to turn around and had spotted her again.

Again, Jessy ran between its legs.

Hey, it worked the first time! She just didn't think she'd have as much time this round. Jessy looked up at the robot, her mind working as fast as she could get it to. The adrenalin in her system helping more than a little.

The woman paused and stared disbelievingly at the back of the robot. "You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me!"

Well, what was the saying?

Never look a gift-robot in the butt?

"…Err…" The woman paused for the briefest of seconds before she shrugged. "Close enough."

Jessy took a running start and jumped up, her left hand curling around the first rung of the built in ladder that ran up the robot's back. Desperately trying not to think where she was on the Hunter Robot's oddly shaped anatomy, Jessy fumble to get another hand hold and still hang on to her chuck of metal. Her foot caught a hold and she pushed off and with a move that she knew that was going to come back and bite her butt later, Jessy managed to get up the ladder and a better hold.

Okay, now what?

The Hunter Robot turned again making Jessy yelp, clinging to the ladder rungs, "Ah…crap! What do I do now?!"

Once again she was looking around and yet another adrenalin boost surging through her. There was also that voice of reason that was demanding to know what the hell Jessy thought she was doing.

"Oh to hell with it," Jessy said as she sucked in a deep breath and yelled, "SOOOONIC!"

The robot turned once again, trying to find the owner of the yell and the mechanic re-attached herself to the rungs…

Mechanic.

Jessy froze. She _was_ a mechanic! This was a robot ("Duh!'). Robots were made up of metal, parts, pieces, armor, ladders, maces, joints…

"Jessy!"

Ignoring her adoptive brother Jessy looked up and to the left at the shoulder joint of the Hunter Robot.

Sonic landed behind her, feet braced flat on the robot's back, one arm wrapping around her middle and the other hand closing over the rung she had a death grip on. "Come on sis we got to g-"

"Sonic! There!" Jessy let go with her left hand, trusting Sonic to keep her from falling. "There! So that spin-y-blade-y-quill thingy you do, at its joints! They aren't armored like the rest of it!"

"But," Sonic started but was whacked in the ear.

"GO!" Jessy grabbed a rung again when Sonic's supporting form left. She watched him run up the Hunter Robot's back to its shoulder. For a moment he looked at its head then jumped strait up. Curling into what looked like blurring indigo sphere with sharp spines all over; Sonic dropped down onto the joint and started cutting away. The blue hedgehog had to break away four times to regain his balance, and get a good breath of air, before he worked his way through.

_Thud!_

The mace arm crashed to the ground and Sonic dropped down as well and leaped away from the off balanced robot as it teetered. He focused on one of its legs, the knee joint and tensed.

_Wham!_

"Oh no!"

"Sonic!"

Jessy and Amy both cried out as the remaining mace hand of the Hunter Robot connected with Sonic's back, flinging the hedgehog off into the woods. Jessy from her perch more then half way up the ladder at what she thought was a hatch, Amy from the edge of the clearing.

"How _dare_ you!" Amy screamed as she ran forwards, scooping up her oversized hammer from before by the twitching grabber-mech.

Jessy just had a glimpse of the pink furred Anthro and her hammer before the robot moved and the woman had to cling tighter.

"Be safe Sonic, be safe, be safe..." the woman prayed, wishing the spirits of the winds to her brother to watch over him as she twined her legs around a rung. Gripping another with her left hand Jessy used her right to stab at the seal around the hatch she had found.

"Come. On. Open. Up. You. Stupid. Hunk! Of! _Junk!_ " With each word Jessy stabbed the seal trying to rip a part of it open. If it was an o-ring type seal that it seemed like, than she only had to wedge out or tear apart one piece then all Jessy had to do was angle that scrap and pry open the hatch by leverage. She could use the same metal piece to jam the internal systems.

Shop class 101, lessen one: You can stall any kind of engine with surprising simplicity. I.e. drop a tiny wrench into a big engine at the wrong place and it'll stall. Or cause total chaos and havoc, not to mention damage.

That's just what Jessy was planning on doing.

As long as the hatch wasn't locked that is...

" _Rrrraah!_ "

Both females stared, one because her target wasn't where it should have been, the other because she had never heard Sonic growl.

Oh, and Jessy found out that if the hatch had a lock, her adoptive brother's attack has jarred it lose. She also found out it was very easy to fall into that big black hole where the hatch use to be with Sonic's second attack to knock the mech at a strange angle.

"...ouch." Jessy winced, slowly lifting a hand to the back of her head and gently poking it for overly sore places. She found two and a half spots, plus something damp on her right shoulder.

"Aw...cra- Ooooooo...that's pretty."

The mechanic stared up at an indent in the 'wall' right above her head. In it was a fist sized red gem that seemed to be glowing from the inside out. Jessy stared, and stared...and stared some more…

There seemed to be something inside every female, and many males as well, that whenever something shiny, glowing, sparkly, and an all-around very pretty gemstone (or crystal), the person seemed to almost go into a trance of sorts for a few seconds. The 'Ooo..that's pretty...' response.

A reverberating crash from outside slapped Jessy back to reality.

Hmm… It might be in her best of interest to get out of there before Sonic tore the robot apart. Jessy flailed about for half a minute before getting her balance. Standing she looked around for the hatch...up there!

That was farther up then it should have been. Did this mech have semi-sub space generator in it? IT had to have considering the inside dimensions of the Hunter was bigger and didn't match up with the out.

The gemstone flashed, dragging Jessy's gaze back to it, but this time she wasn't under its spell. Thus she saw how wires and other goodies connected to the base and trailed off into the dim internals.

The mechanic quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head.

" _That_ looks important..." She smiled, reaching out to pull the stone free.

 _Pop_.

"That was easy." It had almost fallen out and into Jessy's hands, as if it wanted out.

There was another resounding and very jarring crash again, sending

"Ow." Jessy lifted her head away from the glass like thing she had fallen onto and made a mental note to pull one or both of Sonic's ears when this was over.

The woman paused midway of getting up, hands braced on the glass like material under her pamns that were slick. Frowning, Jessy wiped away some of the damp condensation and used the still glowing stone to see what was under it.

"Oh my God..." Jessy sucked in her breath at seeing the pale fur and small form under her. She screamed out for Sonic just as the world imploded.

* * *


	15. Heart Attack

" _Jessy!_ "

The panicked cry rose up through the dust and debris of the wrecked Hunter robot.

"Jessy!?"

The dust was stirred up as something ran from one side to another of the wreck.

"Sis!"

The dust swirled up again as the form ran around the outer rim of the mess, twice.

"Where are you?!"

"Stop running around like a chicken with its head chopped off and _look_ under this stuff to find your friend." A second, and female, voice rose up from somewhere within the dirt cloud, drawing the male anthro's attention to the other as she couched and looked under one of the outer armor plates that had shattered as the Hunter's main body had lose power to its subspace generator and now looked like a bloated lump of scrap.

"Where- Jes'?" Sonic froze mid-step, the blue and brown hedgehog's ears curving up and forward as he listened intently. Did he just hear her?

"Over here!" Amy said, another anthro hedgehog, but with pink fur and a light red dress and sandals. She was crouched down near the center of the wrecked robot, having climbed up on it, her head lost to sight under a flat chunk of metal that was sticking up at an angel.

Not even a second later the blue anthro was pushing into a gap, nose first. Sonic's ears tipped up again as he heard his adoptive sister's voice.

"Jessy?!"

"Hey Sonic."

The anthro relaxed at the sound of the human's words for the first time since he realized that he had destroyed the giant robot, with Jessy _inside_ of it... The hedgehog nearly had a heart attack after Amy had screamed that the other women had fallen in before that last, final attack.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Anything broken?" Sonic pressed, pushing in a little more.

"Yes, kinda but not a lot and I don't _think_ so. Ow..." Jessy's voice drifted up from somewhere under him in the darkness, "You're not going to believe what I -Ow!- found in here! The poor thing..."

Sonic's brows knitted together and he shifted to look back at Amy, who was frowning slightly too. "Jes'?"

"Get your big head out of the light and help me get this kid out of here!" the woman called and both anthros' heard her moving closer and a few coughs. Amy moved back out of the way as Sonic started to as well, but he shifted and leaned forward into the blackness, reaching out. He pulled Jessy up some but stopped.

"Oh my God Jessy, where did he come from?!" the blue hedgehog blurted out gracelessly while looking down at whatever the human was holding. The other fowned, confused as she almost grabbed Sonic's legs, but remembering how fast he could move, Amy changed her mind.

"I found- _ouch_ \- him in a stasis thing but, ah, here take him I can't use my other hand, did something to it."

Sonic moved, blocking Amy's view for a minute. Then he backed up holding something that was bundled up tightly in Jessy's riding jacket. Sonic stood and jumped a good distances away from the wreck and Amy scrambled over after, catching a glimpse of a golden brown tail sticking out of the improvised blanket.

"Take care of him for a minute." Sonic said reaching out and grabbed Amy's hand. Ignoring her half blush and confused look he pushed the female hedgehog down beside the bundle. He leapt back to the wreck and pushed himself into the small cubby hole again to help the human out.

Amy stared after for a moment, wondering, before looking down and carefully pulling the jacket (that now seemed too large) away from what, whoever was inside it. "Oh, oh, oh!"

Amy's felt her heart tighten in sympathy as she looked down at the young, unconscious anthro. She looked the fox kit over with even more care, checking for any injuries or blood marring the still fluffy, golden-brown fur.

"Ow!" Jessy yelped as her bugled left wrist was bumped a little too hard as Sonic maneuvered them free of the pile of now scrap metal. After Jessy had pushed something out first that had to be set aside.

"Sorry sis... what's _that?_ " Sonic blinked down at the large, red stone Jessy was clinging to with her good hand.

"No clue. I found it above the kid." Jessy said glad that her hedgehog brother had picked her up, with arms around her torso to support as soon as he had more room. She was shaken up again. With no more adrenalin in her veins the mechanic was more than certain that she'd fall flat on her face if she took two steps on her own. She winced again as her wrist bumped the stone and Jessy quickly moved her arms so her bad one was safely tucked into her chest as the blue anthro picked her up fully for a moment.

Sonic landed as lightly as he could but still ended up in a half crouch beside Amy. He protested when Jessy wriggled free, only to get that glowing stone shoved into his chest as both females once again looked the fox kit over. Jessy managing one handed. The blue hedgehog did a double take as he put the stone into a special pocket on his back, under his quills.

Sonic leaned over his human sister, one hand on her shoulder. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

" _Two_ tails?"

"For some reason, this isn't as surprising as it might have been if this was a few months ago." Jessy shook her head, looking pointedly at Sonic, then glanced at the strawberry colored hedgehog anthro. Then mindful of her sprained wrist, re-wrapped her jacket around young anthro and pulled the small kit into her arms.

Both Sonic's and Amy's ears came up and they locked to the east, hearing faint sounds of what might be another Hunter Robot.

"We should go." Sonic said pulling the other two up to their feet.

"Wait," Jessy turned back to the remains and pointed to that part she had given Sonic as best she could with a living armload to support, "Go grab that first, then we book it."

"We should leave right now." Amy scowled up at the human, jumping a bit as Sonic vanished beside her to retrieve the part.

"And we are," Jessy grinned as she started to walk in the direction of the bluff, where the rest stop was. "But we need to live too."

Amy bit her lower lip, shifting her grip on her hammer staff. She sighed and nodded, looking at the remains of her car, "Right." She looked at Jessy and the kit before darting over to it.

On the way Amy hit the long limbed robot out of spit and make sure it wouldn't get up for sure.

The hedgehog female extracted her bag from the little silver compact car, stuffing it with everything in the glove box. Making sure there was nothing personal left behind, as well as putting her purse in the duffle and trying to get one of the three food bags in. Amy had been on her way back from home visit friends, bringing gifts and some sensualized food treats that weren't around at home.

Just before leaving, when Sonic was using his speed to bring bags, part, and kit up to the road before the girls. Amy pulled out her cell phone and started to take pictures, getting a few different angles as Jessy kicked the larger mech's remains. She made sure to get images of her car, the other five, and the plates before what looked like cages.

Amy swallowed, blue eyes wide as she kept taking pictures.

"Over here fuzzy," Jessy called, motion Amy over with her good hand and pointed to one of the openings from the inside matching with the outside after Jessy had pulled power from the subspace generator. "You might want to get inside, there's emblems too."

"Good idea." Amy came over, leery but there was no movement. "I'm Amy," She said after getting another bunch of shots inside of those stasis tubes, excepting a piece of scrap from the woman that had that same emblem.

"Jessy," The taller woman said, not giving her clan name, or saying she was a nomad. She couldn't help remembering that night still only a few weeks ago where her family, or rather she and Sonic were attacked. "The blue pin cousin is Sonic."

Said blue pin cousin blurred back into focus as he arrived back. "Okay who's next?"

"Go ahead and take Amy," Jessy smiled as she saw the inside of female hedgehog's flush and tilt back to try and hid the anthro style blushing.

Sonic flashed her a brilliant smile, his own ears standing up at attention as he out right scooped up the girl. "Hi there Amy. I'm Sonic!"

Jessy waited until Sonic took off at his lope with Amy before laughing. She knew he wasn't moving as fast as normal, but then it was likely that Sonic tired from moving so fast for a long deration. She knew it wasn't what Sonic was used to, not his steady running rhythm.

In the minute that she had, Jessy moved around the Hunter robot's remains to the head, and with what knowledge she did have of robotics, took one of the rods of a scrap metal and leveraged an opening in the 'neck.' Jessy stripped the insides of the power stones as well as the data crystals inside the head and the opening to the body that could be reach. She stuffed them into her pockets and held one of the larger power stones to her wrist as Sonic returned to help her up.


	16. Fox Valley?

The first thing he was aware of was being warm and someone was lying beside him. The other's body heat was adding to the warmth around him. It was not only nice to be warm again but also the other body was comforting after so long trapped where he had been. The next thing made his nose twitch as it was filled with the smells of fresh things being cooked with added spices.

The fox kit was almost afraid to open his eyes. He was afraid that the warmth and promise of food might vanish into a dark reality of the dream like place he'd been in when alone.

A soft snore from the form beside him made Miles open his sky blue eyes and look up, He almost cried out in relief at seeing another anthro. Miles didn't know what exactly the other was. He saw the dark blue fur, long spine-like things sticking out from behind his head and down his back.

A porcupine anthro?

No, those were fatter.

Moving a little stiffly, because of the lack of muscle use in a long while, Miles edged closer to the dark blue form. He reached out a hand and met fur. Real fur…

This wasn't a dream.

Miles felt like crying, and a few tears did roll free down his cheeks. Though he didn't know exactly why, whole in a conscious way, the kit was just so happy that it was all over. The young fox pushed his nose under the hedgehog's arm, making sure that he brought the oversized jacket with him before snuggling up close to this warm body. The older male shifted, one arm wrapped around Miles, providing him with a sense of protection that was both comforting and therapeutic.

With his arms around the hedgehog's one, his unique double tails curled around his own legs to keep his bare feet warm, Miles sleepily look around a clearing in the dim morning light. There were two other people other them the two sleepers. Both the females were up, wide awake and talking in soft tones.

One, another anthro hedgehog, with pink fur and a red dress and tan colored sandals, was sitting on an old stump near a fire of the campsite. This anthro was tall, but mostly everyone was taller than Miles. She had an open, friendly face with wide forest green eyes that were framed by her short cropped quills.

The other was a human, not too old, nor very young. The woman was taller than the female hedgehog, nearly two heads taller at most from Miles' angle. The human had short brown hair, a slightly loose gray hooded sweater with the words 'Western University' on the front and a pair of thick blue jeans. She was couched down on the heels of her boots in front of the fire with a small pan in the right hand and a spatula carefully held in the other because of a half improvised splint.

"You sure you don't need any help Jessy?" the hedgehog was saying.

"I might." Jessy, the human said after a muttered ' _Ow_.' Favoring her right wrist that had a bandage support over it, and two small coins slipped in on either side, the larger power stone tucked under Sonic's snoring frame to help with the strain on his quills from the fight.

"Thanks Amy." She added when the anthro got up and took pan and spatula and the women traded places. More or less, Jessy went over to her motorcycle and one of the open bags sitting on its backend. "Here put this in."

"Basil?" Amy blinked at the small jar, "In eggs?"

"Never tried it? Trust me it's good." Jessy smiled.

"Okay, if you say so."

The fox kit closed his eyes and drifted back into sleep as he listened to the soft voices debate about how to properly make eggs. He was woken up when his living pillow decided to get up. Sonic still had a hold of Miles so the kit didn't drop back down and hit his head.

"Hey, look who's up." Jessy noted.

"And just in time for breakfast too." Amy sounded amused at this.

Sonic yawed widely as blinked around until the smell of food broke through the fog of sleep. "Mmm…"

Miles felt more than heard the half purr from the hedgehog and groggily opened his blue eyes and blinked up at the human who was kneeling beside them.

"Hey baby," Jessy smiled down at him, "Come here and let Sonic have his arm back."

The fox kit yawned, letting the woman pick him up out of Sonic's arms. He was still young enough to trust just about anyone, beside no one had yet to show any threats. There was something in the air around the three that said _safe_ , and Miles was too sleepy to think straight anyways.

Jessy chuckled as the boy wrapped his arms around her neck, his legs and two tails going around her middle. "Here, let's get you cleaned up and fed." She said going into Big Sister mode as she walked past her motorcycle and down a path that led to a shallow creek and the public bathroom, grabbing a water bottle on the way.

Sonic smiled at the drowsy expression at the fox, as he grabbed a plate of eggs and inhaled it.

"Do you like it? I helped Jessy make them." Amy asked as she carefully sat down on the ground beside the male hedgehog.

"Yeah," Sonic nodded, "Ish vood!"

Ignoring the fact that he spook with his mouth full, Amy smiled proudly.

"Jessy's cooking is the best."

The world half crashed down around the pink furred hedgehog, "Oh."

"Mmm..." Sonic nodded, oblivious. "You should try sis's kielbasa soup. That _is_ the best."

"'Sis?' Sister?" Amy sat more up right, her ears pricking, "You two are brother and sister?"

"Uh-huh." Sonic nodded and got up, taking his plate and Amy's when she was done with it as he started an easy trot down the path Jessy had gone down to wash the dishes off. He yawned again and reached up to finger his right ear, the one Jessy had yanked yesterday as payback for getting carried away and collapsing the robot on her.

Amy watched after him and smiled softly, with chin cupped in hands her hopes lifted again.

Not too far away there was another conversation under way.

"Miles." The fox kit said after Jessy had asked him his name. "Mamma calls me Tails coz' I have _two._ " He proudly held up two fingers up to Jessy's face and wagged the long, fluffy tails.

"They're both very good names Miles." The woman smiled, tilting her head back away from his waving hand and set the kit down by the cool but warm enough stream. She reached up and grabbed a towel that she had used earlier and set about helping the fox clean up. Mostly it was just washing off his fur with a wet corner of the towel.

"You can call me Tails." The fox said as he used the towel to dry off.

"Okay, Tails it is." Jessy smiled and waved to Sonic as he came down, "Where do you live kiddo?"

"I live in Fox Valley." Tails grinned, "It's really pretty! You should see it Jessy, I know all the best places to play dirt hockey! Have you ever played dirt hockey? I can teach you if you haven't. It's really, really fun!"

"I've played street hockey if that counts." Jessy said using the towel to mess up the fur on Tails' head, making him giggle, "Do you know where Fox Valley is Tails? So we can get you there?"

"Mamma says Fox Valley isn't on a map, she says you can only get to it through a Warp Ring." Tails nodded, agreeing with his mother's words.

"Warp Ring?" Sonic tilted his ears up at the familiar term as he looked over at the two.

"Yeah." The kit nodded again as he hopped into Jessy's arms after she hung up the towel she'd been using.

"Fox Valley must be one of those new inner dimensions that formed over the last World War." Jessy said, thinking of the one Zone she had been too a few years back for a convention, "I've read about them. In high school we had to do a few papers on them, really interesting. The Warp Rings are the only way to get to these Zones."

"Dad said that that's where we came from, I think." Tails looked up at the trees above as he tried to remember what he'd heard his father say.

"All anthros, or just Fox types?" Amy asked, walking over. She heard the last few things said and was interested.

"All, I think." Tails looked over at the female hedgehog.

"Actually," Jessy cut in, sitting down on a flat rock, shifting Tails so he was in her lap, "That's not what happened. At least not according to the history books."

"Really? I never really thought to look it up." Amy frowned, thinking.

"What happened?" Sonic asked, setting the clean plates aside, he hadn't gotten all that far back into history that wasn't directly linked to the nomad clans.

"From what I remember, the inner dimensions were either formed or discovered in the last World War. There were some anthro races there already, but there were very few left." The mechanic started, "I believe the echidnas were the oldest."

"I heard of them!" Amy said, "They live in this really beautiful place called Angle Island. It's supposed to be a floating island up in the heavens…" She sighed, thinking of the island and what she was told of it as a child. "There's only two Warp Rings that will take you there though, and no one knows where they are."

"Yeah," Jessy nodded, "I heard that rumor too."

"Where did the rest of us come from Jessy?" Tails asked looking up.

"There are a few versions of what happened flying around." The woman said, "People didn't write everything down back in the war so there's gaps in history. The most likely thing that happened was that a contagion came out of some of the inner dimensions. It affected humans and some animals, or so I'm told. A few generations later the anthros were accepted as a second race on earth."

More so after finding a few Zones with either just anthros or a mix of them and humans living there, like Soleanna, Metropolis, and Station Square to name a few of the larger ones.

Jessy paused as she lifted one hand, flicking one finger at a time as she counted something in her head, "That was… oh…fifty, no, over seventy years ago I think. Yeah, Nana said she remembered that day when she was little, same day my great uncle Ben came out of his wander years and settled."

"The Anthro race has grown since then though right?" Amy asked, "I mean, over seventy years we had to have."

"Err…" Jessy winced, "Yes and no. Yes it has grown but only by five present, anthros just barely make up fifteen present of globule population, not including in the zones. And there an added risk…"

"What?" Sonic asked, speaking up for the first time in the discussion. "What risk?"

"You remember that Hunter Robot?" Amy asked and Jessy looked down, feeling Tails tense up.

"Yeah?"

"There's a group of humans that makes those things," Amy scowled, "They don't believe that anthros are a true sentient race like them. Sometimes I just can't believe humans! They're not the only one on this world anymore! I don't see why they have to do all those horrible things to us just because we're different and have fur! Or feathers. Or scales."

Jessy hunched her shoulders, looking away in half shame, she knew the sins her kind had done. She had seen them, not really firsthand until now, at least, only on the news or the papers.

But still!

Look at her family, and how they had so completely adopted Sonic into their mist. "…not all humans are like that…" she muttered softly.

"No, they're not!" Tails said loudly, glaring at the pink hedgehog as he clung to Jessy's sweatshirt. "Jessy isn't bad like Robotnick! Jennifer isn't either, _or_ Grandma Hidey!"

"Oh!" Amy lifted a hand to her face, her ears flushing as she remembered the one human in the group, "I'm so sorry Jessy! I didn't mean you!"

The mechanic shrugged it off as she sat back up. "It's okay." She said, more to the young fox then to the female anthro.

"Soo…" Sonic said after a minute, needing to break the silence, "Where are you going from here Amy?"

"I was thinking of going to a friend's until the Hunter Robots have left the area." Amy replied, smoothing out wrinkles in her dress that weren't really there. "Bunny could use some help around the ranch, and we might go get Vanilla and her daughter. What about you?"

"I think we should get Tails home." Jessy said looking up at Sonic, who nodded. "And maybe meet up with a caravan for suples."

"Yeah." The blue and brown hedgehog nodded again as she stood and walked over to Jessy and Tails. "But _how_ do we find the Warp Ring?"

"I remember mamma saying that one was in Or…Ori…Ora…gan…?" Tails stumbled over the name he wasn't used to.

"Oregon?" Jessy and Amy said at the same time.

"Yeah that's it!" Tail beamed around at the three, "Echo, he's the Guardian protects Fox Valley. He knows me so he'll let us in."

"Well, that's good, I think." Sonic blinked.

"No it's good." Amy said, "Guardians tend to be very, ah, overprotective of their charges, and very, _very_ strong. It's a good thing that Tails knows this Guardian or you may have a bit of trouble."

"It's also good that Tails knows the state." Jessy added, "We can go to the nearest internet café and I can look up the known and suspected locations of Warp Rings in Oregon."

Sonic tilted his head, one ear tipping up, "You can do that?"

"Sure." _With a little helpful hacking from a friend_ , Jessy added privately.


	17. Almost There. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, some bonus chapters are coming up, any cameos you as the readers would like to see? I have several that are planned, such as, to name a few, Charles (he's coming back!), Bill (lets see who remembers him 8D) and as mentioned, Breezy is coming in…and so much awards for our blue hero

"Faster, Sonic, _faster_!" A young voice called out into the warm morning.

"You want to go faster huh?" An older voice replied, not too much older. It was still light and full of barely contended energy that surpassed almost everything.

"YES!" Tails, a golden brown fox kit, said and pulled some of the older anthro's quills out of his face so he could see where they were going, "Yes, yes, faster! Please!"

Sonic laughed and shook his head so that his long, streaked quills fell over the boy, sheltering him from the soon-to-be strong winds, "You'd better hang on _tight_ then Tails, coz' we're… _off!_ "

The fox kit gave what sounded like a girl-ish squeal of pure delight as he clung to Sonic's neck when the tall hedgehog Anthro took off. Not anywhere near his full speed for he wanted to stay in the park, and though fast was still mostly in the 'normal' range so not to draw any more attention than being a _blue_ anthro hedgehog.

"Heh." Jessy smiled, looking up from the screen of the laptop she had rented, "At least they're having fun." the woman added as she put on an ear piece. Jessy set up the web-cam on top of the computer screen just in case she got lucky, before she logged onto her special account. She was sitting in the outdoor part of a cyber café, at the farthest back table so she and the two Anthros could have some privacy.

Amy had gone her own way a few days ago, having been dropped off at a passing Nomadic Nation's caravan. The pink anthro had been surprised that they had gone straight to the Sand Sun clan instead of the closer town.

In fact, Amy had been very nervous as they approached the settled and powered down hover craft, custom altered cargo haulers. Each one of the d-class craft were five stories tall, big enough to fit a semi-truck and a half inside, they were as wide as an apartment and able to hold many people. Several families each, or stores, and the line of this convoy was thirty six strong.

"Are you sure we should go _here?_ " Amy had asked, clearly worried as she walked beside Jessy, who was walking her motorcycle. Hanging onto it with one hand while taking off her helmet. Amy glanced back as Sonic scooped up Tails to carry, her ears angled back.

"Yeah, the Sand Suns have the best relations with the authorities." Jessy nodded, "And help mediate with anthros and other minorities down farther south, their just migrating up north for the summer and getting out of the tornado alley."

"But... they're..." Amy stuttered.

"They're what?" Tails had innocently asked, attention dragged away from his fascination of the parked hover craft and people outside.

"They're _nomads_." The female hedgehog said in a half whisper as she clutched her bag.

Jessy arched an eyebrow, for a moment surprised, and then admirably annoyed to find that kind of animosity in the girl. "So?"

"Yeah, we're nomads." Sonic said as he walked past Amy, giving her an odd look of his own as he shifted Tails before he walked right in and asked to see the caravan's leader and security man.

"Its okay," Jessy had said, grasping Amy's shoulder in reassurance, "We're not that bad. Come on, they'll help you lodge the complaint about that hunter robot, and I said I'll find you a ride to one of your friend."

That had been a week and a half ago now, the Sand Suns didn't know where Fox Valley was, but offered the knowledge of a few people who might know. Jessy turned partly and shoved a card she had her contact's information on into one of the inner pockets of her riding jacket that was behind her on the chair back. Three drinks were on the table, her own and one for each of the two boys when they got back.

The mechanic sat back with the laptop in her lap and tapped the side of the computer a bit impatiently.

"Come on R…be online, be online, be online… be… there you are!" Clicking on the tiny bat icon that represented her contact, Jessy turned the web-cam on, "Hey R, its Jessica. Pick up, I can see that you're on batty."

"Jessica?" A smooth voice said into the earpiece, "I thought you were long gone by now on your trip."

"You wish." Jessy waved at the web-cam, "I am on my trip though, with a friend."

"Hmmm…" she could hear the amused chuckle even though all she could see of the other female. A picture of a red rose with bat wings was in place of another web-cam window, "How are you doing?"

"Good, but I need to pull part of that favor you owe me." Jessy leaned back in her seat again, reaching for her iced coffee drink on the table.

"I thought you forgot about that…"

"Again with the 'you wish,' thing." The mechanic smiled, "You took off without paying for the repairs I did to your bike. I'm not going to forget that."

"( _sigh_ ) Alright, what do you need Jessica?"

"Can you get me a list of locations of _all_ Warp Rings in Oregon and Washington, and where they go?" Jessy said taking another sip. "We're looking for a place called Fax Valley, but the other info could come in handy."

"Fox Valley huh?" 'R' paused, thinking, "I think I've heard of that place. It's one of the few areas that are inhabited almost completely by Anthros. Fox types mostly as you can guess by the name."

"Think you can find it for me?" Jessy tilted her head to one side.

"Easily." The other woman said, sniffing in distain at the thought of doubt.

The nomad could hear the other's smile as well, "I'll be here just for the day so…" Jessy started to say.

"It would be better if you can come meet me."

"Where?" She eyed the displayed connection on the screen.

"Breezy's. Think you can make it in a few days?"

Jessy made a face, doing the mental calculations of distance to the Metropolis Zone. There was a sort of check point, not really a border crossing to get into as well. "Maybe... Kind of have a few complications."

"Oh?" The voice asked.

"I'm not alone, and we ran into one of those Hunter Robots from the news." Jessy sighed, thinking of the emblem on it. Then the lack of a response had her glancing down first at the wireless connection, then the chat window. "R? You still there?"

"What kind of hunter robot?" The rich voice asked, no longer sounding just shy of lazy. 'R' had an alertness to her voice as if standing or sitting up right.

Jessy frowned a bit, and gave a basic description of what happened, and when prompted also described the shape and color. Though her voice was lowered so not to draw attention from the other people near the café.

"Did it have an emblem?" R asked, she was still typing just audibly on her end. "Like this?"

A link popped up in the chat window, and Jessy investigated it. She frowned at the image that showed up, the smaller circles in a larger on, and the 'hay' like bunches that made the whole ling look like a face with a mustache. "Exactly like that."

"I'll have the list for you luv'. But we really need to talk about this."

"Okay… thanks batty, oh and-"

"JESSY! Jessy!"

"AH! Watch the laptop Tails!" The woman lifted the computer up with one hand, glad that her drink was safe on the table again as Tails bounced into her lap and preceded to glomp onto her neck once more.

"Jessy, you won't _believe_ how fast Sonic can go!" the boy's two tails spun against one another as he used his hands to show Jessy just how fast the hedgehog could go by flinging them out to one side, "He was like 'We're OFF!' and _ZOOOOOM_! We were going, like… like… the speed of light!"

"Really? The speed of light?" Jessy laughed putting the laptop down on the table, but was still connected by the ear piece.

"Yeah! It was _SO_ cool!" Tails caught sight of the computer and his large ears came up, "What's that?"

"It's a portable computer Tails, like the ones we saw in the Café earlier. I'm talking to a friend with it." Jessy tapped the earpiece then pointed to the rose picture and the web-cam that had lit up in the conversation with the hunter robot.

"How?" Tails asked, neatly distracted from farther animating how Sonic could run.

"The internet, I'll show you in just a minute okay? Say hi to R before she goes." Jessy waved at the web-cam, hearing 'R' chuckle softly.

"Ahhh… hi?" Tails shyly waved at the picture, not quite sure if he would be seen since he couldn't see anyone.

"Up here." Jessy pointed to the web-cam again before she and Tails waved with a, "Bye R!"

'R' chuckled again, "Cute kit, I take it you're he's the reason you want the information."

The picture of the rose darkened as the other signed off at the same time Sonic leaned over Jessy and Tails to get his drink. "Mmmm…" The hedgehog smiled as he sat beside the two. "Thanks sis."

"No problem. Here Tails, try this." Jessy said handing a green colored drink to the fox, "It's the kiwi Italian soda I promised you."

"Oooo…" Tails carefully took a sip then brightened up, "It's good!"

"I told you so." Sonic grinned, shifting in his seat so he was sitting sideways partly, with one leg over the armrest. He and Jessy smiled at one another as the kit happily drank his new favorite drink, as he proclaimed a half a second later. Jessy laughed as she pulled the ear piece out and hugged Tails, unable to resist anymore.

* * *


	18. What real nightmares are made of...

The image of Jessica Ann Binger and the young fox Anthro flickered as the web-cam was bumped a little but it stabilized.

"Good." The watcher said in a surprisingly pleasant tone, a voice that could easily slide to a polite voice, as easily as his face could assume a blank expression with no effort. He folded his hands over the soft lump of fur his lap, stroking it once and continued to watch the screens before him.

The room was well lit, contrary to what some of former and current alliances might think his domain might be like. As well as being very clean with white walls but no windows, for they weren't needed in this underground part of the secured structure. The tables, and all but one chair were made of cold, polished steel. The room smelled of disinfectants, though wisps of burnt metal drifted by from the air vents, every now and again with a fainter scent of since hair or fur.

One wall had a bank of screens, most all universal in size, except a slightly larger on just to the right of censor. Three key boards were on the near bare surface of the table like desk. The main workings of the computers, both the isolated ones in this office, those connected to the rest of his compound and the one to the rest of the world, where all hidden within the walls to make use of space.

Some of the few things on the desk where a near foot patch squares of different furs. Folded neatly, though the labeled 'samples' were all stored in a glass covered and lock case that was to the left of the desk. To the side was several maps, of old paper to one side of the door, and hologram on the right of the door.

There were images of the current targets around the maps, both the renegade and mutated Scott and his current... partner? As well as an old subject that had resurfaced.

Standing the man put his corgi down before walking over to the maps. He was a little pale in the skin, but not really unhealthy. Maybe from the lack of constent sunlight. He was a good six feet tall and had black, neatly cut hair. His brown eyes scanned the green, more erratic line on the paper map that represented the estimated path of Scott. It was broken in many places where there was just no way of tracking the anthro over the last year and a half. Another was a purple line, or spots over the last year of the old prize.

He was very grateful of social media web sites, the postings of anthro in no so common places was a common thing to do. Thus it gave them, him, with a clear image of the reptile anthro. The image had been printed out and attracted to the wall beside the blue furred Scott, perching on the frame of a pick-up's bed with several other humans in one of those nomad gatherings. Ears up and looking rather confused at an offered funnel cake from a blond girl.

The other picture showed a reptile anthro, with skin- or rather a hide that was a mottled mix of green, brown, some hints of purple mixed in. The colors all faded to a reddish on the right arm and leg in the chameleon way that matched the bricks of the wall the anthro had climbed up, and was sticking to. Reaching out with a free left hand to grab a string of a balloon before it got too far away from the child it escaped from.

The picture had been taken in an instant of kindness, as several had said in the social website it was taken from. Something adorable and claiming proof of how alike humans and anthros truly where.

To him, it was a prime view of the only known survivor of the Stellio Lacertae Project. Only one in a group of twenty survived the transition from mammalian, human, forms to reptilian. Of those single ones, probably… what was it, and estimated five or six out of survived the first week from the body using up all energy-fat stores, less were suspected to live longer. For ten years it was thought that project was a complete frailer, until last year. In the intensive search for Scott, the techs online had stumbled across that image.

The chances of this anthro being a random individual was possible, by the known sub Zone, in a larger one, where Stellio Lacertae took place was possible too. It was highly unlikely though. Not with this male anthro being one of the exact anthro types they had tried for in the project.

And, this unexpected prized survivor looked _healthy_. Not thin by starvation or a side effect of the transformation proses. Greavenson tapped the picture over the pale horn on the chameleon, wondering if it took him this long to grow it, or it came quicker.

Now it was only a matter of tracking this reptile anthro down to get a blood sample or a scan at least of the chip Greavenson made sure to put in any experiment or... research subject. Two as of the last few years when there were more escapes from this facility and others. The first had the general information of the subject, project number and any small notes once scanned, kept functioning by body heat. The second was a tracer, and only recently were those able to be small enough to inject and be kept functioning in the same way.

If only he had another minute after Scott had collapsed from the Chaos-surge that changed him. He had a tracer in arm's reach, and Dr. Erica Acane had been _right there_ beside Scott with a tracer injector _in hand_...

"But alas," Greavenson sighed at a chance gone, it would have made getting Scott back so much easier. More so considering the apparent speed he could move now. Something that was a million to one in chance as there seem to be no augmentation. The speed seemed... natural. The Chaos energy would have faded in a day, maybe two, after the blast that changed Scott.

Turning from the maps, the man watched the video feed where he was, "How innocent they seem." Greavenson, the man in complete charge of the G.A.A.R.P. agency, mused to himself as he waited for the third member of the little group he had finally tracked down to show up.

The fox like creature was expendable. It was an anthro that had been born, not a changed from a human like the real prizes. True, the double tails were an interesting mutation but that was about it. The girl might hold a bit more value though. Especially if Scott had any… what was the term? Ah, right, 'love'. If nothing else the… the _nomad_ would most likely be a good way to get to the changed sergeant.

Greavenson's eyes narrowed as the true prize came into sight on the screen. He smiled, plans already half made in his head as he walked back to his seat.

On the screen Scott wrapped his arms around Jessica in a hug, his head next to hers as he seemed to tease the fox about something. Shame he couldn't get the audio too, or the other end of the call. Whoever it was had more protection than the nomad.

Maybe he _could_ use the girl... but how? Scott had already proven to be faster and stronger then ever before. The hedgehog's strength was constantly growing by all accounts. The more he ran, the faster he became it seemed.

The man leaned forward, tapping a finger on his knee as he thought about it.

"I can't keep up with you, so I need you to come to me Scott." Greavenson smiled to himself again, "I wonder if you would follow her, or that young thing… who would you give yourself up for? Is it the kindred spirit? Or could it be the pretty mechanic? Who is the easiest to take from you?"

Not the freak fox, that was for sure. Both Scott and Jessica would be surely watching over it, protecting it more carefully from the public or any possible theat.

"But the girl…" Greavenson chuckled as he leaned back. "Yes, that does make more sense. The nomad is older, and not being watched over as closely as the fox would be. She's most likely to go off on her own without... supervision. Scott would be left behind with the pup and…"

He chuckled again, but this time it was a bit darker. The man waited until Jessica started to talk again into her friend. Sadly he couldn't track the other but it was sheer luck that one of his men had spotted Scott so he could tap into their computer.

"Ah, so you're going to a zone... fox something… must be treated to the mutant." one side of Greavenson's mouth twitched after watching this one side of the conversation carefully, "No doubt to return that little fur-ball to its owner. I'll see you there my dear."

He laughed softly to himself, and at hearing a hissing sound in reaction he turned his chair around to regard the cage in the far corner or the wall with a smirk. "Don't worry my dear, I haven't forgotten about you, or your kind. Or that family." He assured in a tone that was all reassuring and terrifying at the same time.

Coin bright eyes narrowed into a glare behind a rainbow shine of the force shield that kept the feline anthro in. There was fear there in those admittedly pretty eyes, but as the human turned around he didn't see how the spotted female anthro silently leaned forward, studying what he was doing, and the maps. The gold eyes narrowing to slits as claws thought to be removed, and unknowingly grew back slid out of her finger pads to reach for the field.

 _I'm coming Bill..._ She thought once more, but even that thought was kept quiet so not to disturb the human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun...dun...duuuuun...!
> 
> XD Don't think anyone's going to know who the new character is, expect for maybe two people, but she will be coming back. .o. hopefully with her hide and fur all in place! And there's another Cameo in here!
> 
> And a big thank you to all those that favorited and\or put this on their alert list!


	19. Metropolis Zone

" _Heeee-yo brothers,_ " A rich, male baritone voice lifted in the air, strong and bold lifted into the air. Startling a few people into sitting up in the seats of their cars, those in range at least to hear it, " _There's this endless land to discover,_ "

" _The roads that lead to nowhere, and every dream,_ " a woman's voice joined in, not on lighter side of the scale but still pleasant,

" _These are our roads, the endless ways to eternity._ " Sonic was standing up straight beside the motorcycle, smiling at the young Tails on the seat. Jessy was standing on the other side, clapping her hands to keep the time of the song and encouraging both Tails, and the two kids in the SUV to the left of her motorcycle to join in. Very quickly Sonic was also clapping in time as well, joining in on the extra bit of fun that helped get rid the boredom of waiting.

Though some, or rather most didn't seem to mind the group, even rolling down windows to listen to the impromptu consort. There were one or two visible humans that would glare over, as much at Sonic and Tails as they did Jessy when it became clear she was the one producing the nomad songs. The group didn't seem to notice, or rather the older two had but were just ignoring the old and new predigests.

It was a great way to pass the time, waiting at the board-line like half parking lot to go through the open warp ring that led to one of the oldest known Zones. Metropolis, as the city-filled Zone was called was large enough that it had some Zones itself, expanding to resorts or planes for food. Being so big there had to be some traffic coordination needed for the daily flow.

Jessy had been to this Zone a few times over her life, and knew enough to get her timing right so although it was a few hours to walk the bike up to the Warp Ring, she still got them to it for that day. About ten people came out of the Zone, then ten into the Zone, the pattern back in forth, with the side here in the old world getting to be hot in the semi-desert area. A few large dirt parking lots where set for those wishing to walk into the zone for the day instead of bringing their vehicle.

The ring, once up close was more than impressive as evidence by the...

"Oooo…" Sonic breathed as he walked over, one hand on the right handle bar with his ears standing up right all the way. Holding the tank like motor cycle up as Jessy cleared their passage with it.

"It's so pretty Sonic..." Tails reached up with his own blue eyes locked on the great golden ring, he fumbled about until one hand got a hold of a blue furred arm to tug on it, "And shiny!"

"It is really shiny," Sonic agreed, but this was nothing they had ever heard about or read on the Warp Rings could have really prepared any of them for seeing one up-close. Not even that video the group had seen in a small mom and pop dinner when the owners where showing a vacation home-movie.

It was as thick as a person, three and half times as tall, hovering a foot off the ground and a rich gold color that seemed to glow from within. The ring somehow reflected everything around it, so Sonic could see himself when he got closer as well. Yet, at the same times, the ring was also transparent. What looked like purple, silver, crimson and white sparks formed and were shed off the ring to drift down to the gravel below. Sonic reached out, when they got closer, letting one of the sparks fall into his palm. It absorbed harmlessly into his hand, leaving a tingling feeling behind, and the hedgehog peer at his blue hand. Flexing his fingers to test if the motion changed.

"This just amazing isn't?"

Sonic looked up at Jessy's voice, the spell of wonder he had been under braking, but not for the boy still sitting on the motorcycle. The dark blue hedgehog shook his head, the long quills rattling against each other as he did so.

"It is." Sonic said resting a hand on top of Tails' head. The kit had his arms wrapped around the left side of the older Anthro as he still stared at the Warp Ring with rounded eyes widen enough for a saucer plate it seemed.

It was so tempting to reach out and touch the golden ring... Sonic moved his hand back to holding the handle bar as Jessy got on, as to touch a Warp Ring meant you were going somewhere else. If you're ready for it or not.

The travel aid, one of several, that was a human this time touched the ring, her form wavering and vanished with an eep from Tails.

"What happened?" Tails asked, and though there was a Warp Ring leading to his home Zone, the kit had never seen it but from a distance, nor seen how it worked.

"It's okay Tails," Jessy turned as the boy latched onto her jacket from behind. "This is how it works, she has to go to the other side to make sure its clear because we're taking the motorcycle with us. When she's back, we can go." She looked up as Sonic moved around to the back and his seat, hopping up on the back as they all needed to be on it.

The travel aid came back, smiling as she brushed her hand and motioned Jessy to come over, "Alright come on. Remember to keep your engine off." The burnet reminded, smiling as the nomad gave a salute and then the woman waved at Tails. The fox gave a small smile and wave back, his shy flattened ears pricking back up.

Sonic grinned, winked in a flirt to the travel aid as he wrapped one arm around Tails, the other hand gripping Jessy's jacket as he extended a leg to help push the motorcycle. Jessy stired it in close, just enough to be in arm's reach. Her left arm reached out and after a moment's hesitating, laid her hand on the there but not ring.

Energy _pulsed_ around and through the three, even vibrating in the metal. Hair and fur rose with a tingling sensation, and then things blurred, and then changed. No more in the heat laden air of the desert, even under the shade casting tarps, but machined cooled air. Sonic and Tails both snorted and started sniffing before seeing the glittering twilight world about them.

Yet it was Sonic who's jaw dropped at the sight beyond the cleared area where the warp ring hovered. Somehow managing to stay up on his seat as Jessy pushed the motorcycle where directed to get into the road way areas of the Metropolis Zone, reassuring the travel aids that she had been here before.

This world, this _Zone_ had an almost living breathing feel to it, awake and alive like New York… or more like Las Vegas, only on steroids. With a flow of not just humans but just as many anthros, of all types it seem, fur to feathers. Lights pulsed rhythms and traced paths through the many levels, spelling out letters and images to coax costumers and guests into their businesses, casinos, grocery stores, even cafes. Just barely seen above, towards the highest levels were just visible edges of vast solar panels and supported power cores. Once one learned how to look, they would be able to pick out smaller panels littering the building to catch the lights from the signs.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...okay, so I know this is short but I've been sitting on this chapter since my dad died. Its… been really hard, I haven't forgotten any of my stories, even the old ones but life seemed to literally turn upside down for me. I'm not 'better,' maybe 'okay' but depression makes it hard to write, more so on a story I love still, and I don't want to change it even more in a bad way.
> 
> Soo… yeah, sorry it took so long to update but, you know survival has to delta with (sucks being technically homeless).


	20. Five, Six, Don't Mix Your Drinks

Later, Sonic would admit that he hadn't fully paid attention to where they had gone, or rather how they had gotten to the hotel and club that Jessy had almost bee-lined too. Making a stop to get them some meat rolls and two chilly blows from a food stand she seemed to know and was happy to see the vender. They weren't the only ones there, Sonic remembered seeing many others at that food stand, from humans to anthros, even a grey colored wolf with blue eyes (the colored marks on his eyes reminded the hedgehog of eye shadow).

There had been more than a few distractions, not just the city-zone itself but the people. For the first time, Sonic really did feel like he fit in, with the mix of people of skin, fur and even feathers. He even spotted a few different banners of nomad clans in a semi distant market, but none from his adoptive clan. Some looked like a desert based clan, the flags vaguely something Sonic remembered seeing the kids of the family learning from the older grandpas, then the flags and the caravan went into one of the underground tunnels to another glowing level of the zone.

Jessy walked the motorcycle down into a under street parking garage, not minding that both Sonic and Tails were sitting on it. The vehicle was in a low power mode as well as neutral so she could maneuver it without putting too much effort into it. Sonic was holding onto Tails with one arm, the chilly had been condensed into one bowl and the paper bowls stacked, though the blue anthro was twisting around to watch a hover craft coming lower to street level. His eyes widening a bit as the craft waited to land then deliver its contents to the café across the street from them.

As the woman was talking to the guard- who seemed to remember her and was happy to chat for a minute, Sonic was only listening with one ear tilted back at them. He knew of hover craft, seen a few in Seattle but... not this close up, and there were even move up above in the towers and maze of lights.

"Thanks Rocky," Jessy said, jarring Sonic back into the present as he turned, lifting his legs so his feet wouldn't drag. The canine anthro looked sonic up and down as he passed, the hedgehog blinked, and flashed a brillent smile before waving like a dork, getting Tails to giggle and wave too in response. The security guard chuckled then, smiling instead of that moment of a frown.

He waved the three on again, "Go ahead in, Jessy you're always welcome to the VIP parking. I'll like the boss lady know you're on your way up to the club. And have guests."

"Tell her I have a little brother now too, so there's no shenanigans going on with the gems." Jessy rolled her eyes as she walked, "Sonic finish that bowl off, its not much left and your metabolism..."

"Heh," Sonic deftly finish the nearly cold chilly, "I can see why you got it, its good."

"we were lucky it hadn't run out yet." Jessy said, digging into one of the saddle bags, trying to find something in the bottom while steering with only one hand on the handle bars how. It was an awkward stretch but she stood back up, holding a small purple cloth bag.

"What is that Jessy?" Tails asked, puzzled, and held out his hands as Jessy passed it to him.

"It was a present from me friend here," Jessy explained, smiling as Tails held the 'present' close to his white furred chest, "I want to wear it so she can see them. Don't drop it."

"I won't!" Tails promised as he looked back, Sonic was getting off to go jog over and deposit the non edible leftovers from their half lunch snack into a trash can in the parking garage. "What is this place Jessy?" the kit asked as Sonic came back, finally helping with pushing the motorcycle down a ramp and to where a purple sign Tails couldn't read for the fancy curves and lines of the letters. He scrunched up his face, one large ear kiltering back and the other up right, trying to make out the word.

"This place is a hotel and club, its owned by my friend," Jessy said, explaining again but not minding, it had to be a confusing and ADD-inducing day for the kit after going through the Warp Ring. "Her name is Rouge, she's a bat anthro," the woman explained, heading to the marked VIP parking and admirably taking some satisfaction at being able to park her motorcycle almost sideways in a spot big enough for a sports. She waved to a black mirror directly before the partaking spot and pointing at her bike, knowing one of the boys from her last visit was in there to keep and extra eye on these parking spots. If she remembered right, who was likely in there, she could trust her shared possessions were safe until she got a room and

"Bat?" Tails echoed, puzzled as he handed Jessy's present back to her when she held her hand out, "How tall is- ooooh, that so _pretty!"_ Tails was distracted as he saw the silver chain and the small stones that glittered in the purple lights of the sign and a soft white of the parking garage. The kits leaned over, hands on the seat, captivated at seeing real jewelry for the first time- it _had_ to be jewelry right?

"Whoa Jes' talk about bling," Sonic said, leaning over Tails for a better look, his ears were picked up as well, then gave a little shiver like spazzemd, like they were trying to go even more alert, as he recognized the pattern in the tiny stones around the larger blue one. "Hey that's...that's the clan's..."

" _Rainwalkers._ " Jessy smiled fondly down, brushing her thumb over the piece she held, the sapphire she was pretty sure was real, was the center piece and as big as her little finger's nail. With the other small emeralds and turquoise set in silver, the center framed but not backed, and as she turned the pendent over, the two boys saw another pattern set on the back side with the tinier stones in grey-white, yellow and one little red ruby. "And the _Storm Runners_. Rouge had it made for me and just left it on the counter last time she stayed with me. I got it out of the safe before…before we left." Jessy glanced up at Sonic, who nodded, not wanting to bring up that scare, not with Tails there cooing.

"That's…amazing." Sonic decided, "She just gave it to you?" he asked, one ear tilting to the side. He wasn't the best at estimating costs, but he remembered looking into a jewelry story with Jessy in a mall on the way to the chocoleteer shop and there had been a lot of numbers attached to the _tiny_ little stones. Sonic eyed the center sapphire again.

"Its really pretty Jessy! And that's part of your clan flag?" Tails put in, a little puzzled, but seeing the link of pattern a little.

"It's a lot more stylized," Jessy chuckled, unzipping her riding jacket. She ducked her head to put the chain over, the _Rainwalker_ emblem showing outward. The woman dug into the small pouch to put on a slender ring on her her right hand, the sapphire in it a non catching setting. A matching pair of ear ring studs were put in, and the kit was baffled.

"What are, doesn't that hurt Jessy?" Tails asked, worried.

"Hm?" Sonic blinked, looking down at the boy and back to Jessy, he grinned, "Their just earrings Tails."

"My ears are pierced," Jessy explained to the kit, crouching down on her heals to show Tails, "They already have a hole in them, see? It doesn't hurt. Sonic could have a stud or ring too." She added grinning.

Tails whipped around and looked up at the blue and brown anthro that had been a brother figure to him, " _What?_ " he asked, so incredulous that the hedgehog found himself bursting out laughing.

"Yeah! I forgot about that!" Sonic reached up to his left ear, turning his head and smoothing his spines so they wouldn't rattle, he poked the end of an unfiled down claw though the whole in his ear, wiggling it. Where it had come from, he had no idea, and had found it one night after a shower and been drying off, but one of his claws had caught it. The spot had been well hidden by the fuzz on his ears until then, "Maybe I should get something, or barrow one of yours Jessy."

Grinning at Tails' expression as she stood, Jessy thoughtfully rubbed her chin after slipping the last piece of jewelry on, a bracelet on her left wrist with the _Storm Runners_ clan colors, the cloth bag tucked down into an inside pocket of her jacket. "Hmmm… I don't have anything that's big enough, and Rouge I know would have a fit if she found any of my fake jewelry on you or me."

"Maybe a ring?" Sonic asked innocently, picking Tails off the motorcycle and letting back down on the ground, not minding that the kit grabbed at his hand as they walked to the elevator doors. "The hole is too big for studs, but nothing heavy, I don't floppy ears."

"That might work, but you'd have to work for the money to get it." Jessy grinned as Sonic gave a dramatic groan of horror at the thought of working. Laughing, Jessy hit the call button and when they entered to go to the club level she looked down as the golden furred fox kit tugged her hand. "what is it Tails?"

"...Can...can I have jewelry too?" Tails asked, staring at the glitter of blue, gold, yellow and red on Jessy's wrist at his eye level. "Not right now but...some time?"

Jessy blinked, and looked up at Sonic, who was tilting his head, "Like earrings or necklaces? Or my bracelet?"

"Yeah, like that," Tails nodded, glanced up between them, hesitating, "Is...is jewelry just for girls?" he asked worried, remembering some talk over heard at one of the fast food places they went to.

"Chaos no," Sonic said all at once, grinning, "Why would it be? Its for males and females, boys and girls. Though sometimes it looks nicer on girls." He added, and shrugged, "It depends on the syle that its made Tails."

"Here, tell you what," Jessy freed her hand and dug into one of the right pocket of her jacket, then to the inside jacket. All the way to the botten and to the small hole where some of the stitches came out, just enough that a simple but tough chain to slide through, but not the small ring that was attached to it. Moving aside the notepad and a few other things, Jessy fished it out.

Tails' blue eyes widen as Jessy knelt down beside him, with a very serious expression, and the kit realized that the woman had something very important.

"Can you promis me not to loose this, and be very, _very_ careful with this?" Jessy asked holding something in her hands, ignoring Sonic's grin over Tails' head.

The kit let go of the hedgehog's hand and stood up taller, nodding very serious himself, though his two tails were waving so fast he might as well be wagging them, "I do! I promise! I'll be _really_ _careful_ with…what is it Jessy?" He leaned forward as the woman opened her hand to show the kit a ring too small for her to wear any more, the silver ring looked faded in comparison to the jewelry Jessy wore right now, giving it an _old_ feeling to it. There was a stone in the center, held on by rounded silver points, the stone wasn't think, flat it seemed and oval shaped, about the same size as on of Tail's finger tips without his claws. It was polished black-silver, and reflected a tiny image of the kit after Jessy rubbed off a finger print.

"This stone is called hematite," Jessy said letting the kit tough the ring, "This ring is really important to me, it belonged to my great grandmother," Jessy could feel the start of tears prick at the edges of her eyes as she remembered the elder of her clan from her youth, the woman that brought the two clans together in her own youth. "She was the Matrarch of my family, who first brought the _Rainwalkers_ and _Storm Runners_ together as a new clan. That's very important to my family history, and this ring is over two hundred years old, there's a lot of history in it."

Jessy reached out, careful of the large tan ear as they folded back as she put the chain over Tails' head with a smile that was fond, loving and sad all at once. The kit didn't notice as Sonic inhaled as the older Anthro realized the real implications of what was happening, his own emerald eyes softening at the scene of the little kit being adopted into her- his- _their_ family.

"Two hundred..." Tails breathed in awe, looking down at the ring that was on his small chest, almost highlighted by his white fluff. He held it in his hands then gripped it as if to keep the ring extra safe, responding to the honesty and feelings in Jessy's voice and poster. The kit hugged the woman as hard as he could, "Jessy- I'll take good, really good care of it! I won't every loose it until you want it back! I promise, I promise, I _promise!_ "

The woman grinned as she hugged Tails back, "You can ware it for now Tails, I trust you." She stood after a moment, holding Tails' free hand and looked up at Sonic, who was holding the elevator door open. "Come one then, let's go meet Rouge and get a room for tonight."

Thankfully no one had been waiting for the elevator or the hall beyond- not that Sonic would have given a flying flip as Tails for the first time looked so proud and full of more life then since they found the boy. The hedgehog anthro made a promise to himself then as he fallowed the other two, his spines rising a moment of the swept back clumps in a protected display. As long as Tails was with them, until they got the kit safely home and with his real family: _nothing_ was going to make Tails unhappy again, _nothing_ was going to hurt his little brother.

Sonic scanned around, giving himself a light shake that rattled his quills, but grinned wide as Jessy glanced back to show he was fine. The hedgehog glanced around, noting they were one level above street level, with some shops below them, and on their level. Jessy was making a bee-line to arched doorway with a long line of people waiting to get into the dimmed, but not dark club. The woman walked right up to the doors, her head held high and her stride was that of a proud nomad, unafraid of the buff and big canine if not wolf anthros guarding the entrance. With the warning ahead of time and also knowing the most of the guards from the past, Jessy grinned as the German Sheppard like anthro in the very front smiled at her.

"Hey Franklend!" She greeted on her way up.

"Long time no see Rider." Franklend returned, glancing down at the two tailed fox and the spiny anthro that was with the mechanic. "Didn't think you would ever come back here, its been so long."

"That's what happens when you're on your wander years." Jessy said with an innocent look, and got a wide grin showing canine fangs and the almost cropped ears coming up, "Hope you'll stay awhile then. Go ahead in, the gems aren't doing anything." He glanced at the awed fox kit, having a feeling the boy hasn't seen many his 'cousin types' of anthros yet.

"Cool," Jessy walked right in, that satisfied feeling coming back as she avoided a line. Sonic wasn't even trying to hide it himself.

"Hey! How come she gets to go in!" someone in the line protested that didn't hear the exchange.

Jessy looked back, smirking a little at the young human and avian males that were getting upset, "It's called good history."

"Jessy?" A voice asked from in the entrance passage to the clue, a deep male tone that had her turning, and almost balking at the towering man.

" _Vector?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo... I've done a thing. Doing more things related to this thing now. The ring is real by the way, not the same history but its based on my right that grandma gave me when I was young.
> 
> ...I'm back


	21. Seven, eight, these are ya mates

" _Vector_?" Jessy asked, taken aback a bit at the sight of the big blond man, and then she was moving over, smiling as she latched onto the man in a hug.

Sonic couldn't help but palling just a little under his fur for a just a moment. Staring with Tails at the new human that didn't seem to be a part of security but was built just like the bouncers almost.

He had no idea humans came in _that_ size!

Brian 'Vector' Hunter was not a normal man that Sonic had gotten used to meeting. Not just that the man was taller (almost half of everyone was taller than Sonic), though standing at about six foot ten or eleven with and a muscle build like that of a wrestler, big shoulders and a deep chest. The man had dark, intelligent brown eyes, short dirty blond hair under a stinson 'cowboy' hat.

...or maybe the man was more like a bouncer since Vector fit in with those that were around guarding the entrance of the club. It wouldn't be until a little later that Sonic would discover this man that was hugging his sister not only had a deceptively sharp mind, but a good heart too.

"What you doing here Jessy?" Vector asked, puzzled, putting the woman back down on her feet

"What are you doing out of Station Square?" Jessy asked back with a raised eyebrow, tilting her head back to Sonic and Tails then nodded at the club, "Was getting some information, but Batty wanted to talk to be about an attack with-"

"Robotics?" Vector asked, cutting in as he stood up a bit taller, turning partly to look at darkly colored anthro just inside the inner club doors. That anthro was oddly hard to make out but gold eyes were reflecting the light as he nodded.

"Yeah..." Sonic said slowly, looking at Jessy.

"We came for the same reason more or less." Vector made a motion to come inside with them, away from the people who were still eyeing the two groups who got in for free and no fuss. "Come on, Batty is waiting likely. This is my new partner Espio." Vector introduced as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and then smiled warmly down at Tails, that moment to show kindness to the kit was what had Sonic starting to like the man.

The hedgehog shifted his gaze to look at the other anthro that was with this giant of a man, clear emerald eyes met almost metallic gold. The reptile cocked his head to look around the horn and get a better, taken aback a little at the blue fur, even as his scales shifted colors from red and brown to a marble mix with darker oranges and purple mixed in. Oddly it was not a bad mix, and gave the reptile anthro a bit of a handsome quality, enough that he felt a little awkward at the appraising looks from some of the females (and males) in the club were giving him and the lanky runner beside him.

Both had a similar build, lean and solid muscles, though Sonic stood a few inches taller. The hedgehog though once realizing he was being eye had a different reaction, not keeping his eyes straight ahead and hiding a blush, but his quills lifted off his neck and shoulders. It took the reptile anthro a moment to realize this blue male was giving a half smirk, almost a grin at the attention, before he seemed to shift his stance as if about to flirt outright.

"Jessy my darling and- oh my water god Vector _that hat!"_ A new female voice called and then cut herself off.

"Howdy Breezy," Vector said as he lifted a hand, tilting his hat, while his accent changed to that of southern, old faction American, and little cheesy, instead of that from his native home-Zone. "How might yea be doin' this fine evening?" His brown eyes were glittering with mischief at the female anthro before him and Jessy, the mechanic looking up at the man with widening eyes at the unexpected accent.

The reptile anthro blinked, leaning around Vector, then noticed the blue furred runner had stopped short to stare, startled at the sight before them. At the female that was jumping up to wrap her arms around the man's neck in delight.

Sonic couldn't help staring at the turquoise colored female, who was as much like him and Amy as she was vastly different. Not short but able to look most people in the eyes. Her own eyes were almost glowing lavender, reflecting the lighting in the club. The female had long quills, some painted or dyed in shades of amethyst and lavender, though her quills were far from wild like Sonic's, but stylized. Wearing a black and lilac dress, highlighted in lines of silver that matched her jewelry. She wasn't slender like a runner, nor looked like she had defined muscles...but she didn't look weak.

 _Oh no_ , the chameleon thought as Espio realized what he was seeing, _This woman is a whole lot of trouble._ He was also not missing how Vector was acting and reacting, subtly checking his jacket's pockets. How Jessy, after a hug, did the same thing while the female hedgehog was exclaiming in delight at the necklace pendent she wore then the other two pieces. Both the humans were comfortable like with an ally, but not as a trusted friend such as each other.

Espio started to frown, moving to use his forearms to check that the pouches on his belt were closed, the movement also gave him the reassuring feeling of cool metal brushing against his hide in a few places. He glanced at the runner, noting the almost blank look, and was on the verge of being exasperated with the furry male, before a thought struck him.

This male hedgehog, may not have met a female of his own type.

Hedgehogs were almost as uncommon as reptiles, let alone Espio's own type of chameleon.

"Oh my, who is _this?"_ Breezy said, her voice settling into a richer tone as she noticed Sonic over the human woman's shoulder, her eyes brightening.

"Hurm..." Sonic half mumbled, rocking back on his heels, ears erect at attention, eyes wide as the female moved closer, but he seemed rooted to the spot.

This could be a lot more trouble than Espio wanted to deal with, and he almost regretted his dissection to stay with Vector.

"Breezy, meet my brothers," Jessy said, pointedly, "That's Sonic, and the little one is Tails."

"Hello miss Breezy!" A young voice piped up from closer to hip level, "You're really pretty..."

Breezy came up short, more at Jessy's words, and then completely froze before looking down at the fox kit at Sonic's left side, holding the male's hand. She blinked down at the golden brown fur, the swaying two tails, and then looked back at Jessy.

The mechanic had her hands in her jacket pocket, staring intently.

Espio took a subtle step to his right, he knew that protective look.

Breezy gave a brilliantly charming smile, as she remembered what Rouge had said a few weeks ago, looking down to Tails again as she couched with knees close together. The woman smiled, a hand over her chest, "Why thank you little one, that compliment means very much to me." She leaned over and kissed the boy between his ears, and Tails ears flush dark in a blush. "Why don't you go over to Emerald and Obsidian over there," Breezy moved to point to one of the empty bars with a green feathered avian anthro female and a raven male, she gave a wink, "Tell her Breezy sent you, and Emerald will get you some soda and maybe something from the kitchen."

"Really?" Tails looked at Sonic, then over to Jessy as the male was still in shock.

"I think that's really cool," Jessy said, smiling in reassurance, "You're safe here Tails, Breezy and Rouge are friends."

"It's okay?" The kit asked, becoming shy.

"Breezy here runs this place, so if she says so..."

"It's alright," Breezy assured, pulling something out of the hidden pockets of her dress' skirt. A handful of round polished stones, with a VIP carving in them, she gave one to Tails, "Take this, and anyone with the value patch will help you out while your sister and brother talk with us."

Tails took the near coin thin stone. Looked around and with Jessy's assurance and then Sonic's nod he ran over to where the two bird anthros were, shyly introducing himself to the female that leaned over the counter.

"Cute kid," Breezy said, looking pointedly at the mutation of the two tails, and then back to Jessy, "He's why you want to see Rouge?" getting a nod, the hedgehog lady sighed, and tossing the other VIP stones to them, turning her back so she didn't see an interesting thing, "Come on then, there's some others she thinks you need to talk to as well."

Espio for a few moments was almost gaping in shock, having caught his badge for this club, he had been about to catch the other stone for Sonic, but he wasn't fast enough. Something impossible it seemed happened as the dark blue hedgehog had just... blurred as he moved too fast to properly see and snatched the stone out of the air.

Sonic was alive again, his ears rotating and twitching as he examined the badge, then looked after Tails, flashing a grin and wave to reassure before fallowing the two humans. "What?" Sonic asked, seeing Espio's look, and then smirked.

"Nothing," the chameleon said, brushing past him, reclaiming his composter and folding his arms, one over the other below the level of his chest, tail flicking.

Sonic chuckled and caught up to loop an arm around Jessy's shoulders and leaning on her, one ear keeping in the direction of Tail's voice. He peered up at Vector, "Sooo... how do you know Jessy?"

"A few years ago," Vector said with smile, "She fixed my old bike, back when I was a bouncer for hire, spent a year in Seattle and met Jessy." The man shook his head, "It was at a cavern market, and every since we kept in semi contact. When I was an officer at Station Square Jessy would come stay on my couch during the conventions and shows for car and motorcycle parts."

"That makes sense knowing how you serpent a three day weekend at one of those in Seattle." Sonic rolled his eyes, grinning as he was shoved off and Jessy was mature enough to stick her tongue out at her brother.

"Brat."

"And you're not?"

"Dear, the day Jessy isn't a brat in some manor," A new female voice said, and a slender, toned, white furred anthro with large ears and sharp teal eyes. She was in a black dress with dark pink-red highlights, and what looked at first like a cape of white. "Is the likely around the same time _I_ retire." Her voice was surprisingly deep and rich for her frame type, and as she stood from another bar ring in the open floor plan of this club to come over, the cap shifted and lifted off her shoulders. The clasp around her front, over her chest, proved that it wasn't a knotted clasp but gripping claws for her wings that were partly opening.

"Hey Batty." Jessy said far too innocently to really be innocent, and then grinned before coming over to surrender a hug to Rouge.

"See?" Rouge half demanded, hugging Jessy with arms and wings, "A full on _Brat_."

"Yep. But she can fix what others can't." Vector pointed out, hugging Rouge as well, and both Sonic and Espio could see the bat anthro only had four digits on her hands, and three exposed on her wings' wrist joints. She also had rings for both, and enough jewels that Rouge likely had several thousands of dollars and Coins worth on her person from head to tail, to feet. "As if you would retire while those pretty wings still work." He scowled, but it was more for some past annoyance in his days as an officer.

Rouge widened her eyes, before flicking her wings closed over her shoulders again, and motioned to the bar where a few anthros and an older human man were sitting at the far end, looking placed at the attention his drooping, but elegant mustache was getting. "Come over, drinks are on me, and a few rooms for you too," Rouge looked at Jessy and Sonic, an then smiled at Espio who was half behind Vector's bulk. "And you'll find a refund in your rooms, I made sure the floor managers and security are keeping watch on your rooms for that sleeping prince."

Vector tensed, rumbling a warning growl out of his big chest.

"Don't be so surprised, you know I have a good information network," Rouge sniffed as she stepped up to the bar to sit.

"But she doesn't want to admit that you threw her off showing up with that kid," An older Anthro with short black fur that was starting to grey, and thick armor plates over his head and down his back with a twitching long black tail. He was built not unlike Vector himself, just a bit shorter, as he turned from the counter, setting down his glass. "I have to admit myself that I wasn't expecting you to end up with the kid Hunter."

"Just Vector now Bill." The human said shaking hands, "Good to see you again, how's your boy?"

"Doing good, becoming quite a performer I hear." Bill said as the armadillo anthro settled back, looking at the other three, he perked up and inclined his head to Jessy, "Oh, hello there miss!"

Jessy arched an eyebrow, smiling back, " _Coree._ "

"Coree!" Bill sat up and brightened even more at hearing the traditional greeting, "What clan are you?"

"We're _Rain Walkers_ ," Jessy started as she leaned on the bar by Rouge.

"And _Storm_ _Runners._ " Sonic jumped up onto a stool behind her, "It's a joined clan, how about you?"

" _Sand-burned Riders_ ," The elder armadillo poofed with pride, "My home caravan is in town, I'm catching up with Rouge here."

Sonic frowned for a moment, scratching at his left ear, "I think I remember seeing banners going underground."

"Likely them," Rouge crossed her legs, reaching out to adjust Jessy's necklace, "But he's mostly why I wanted you two to come here, Jessy, Brain."

"Vector," The taller man corrected, he didn't want her to use his first name, Vector leaned against the bar, motioning Espio to come over and order a drink as well. "It's to do with the macha attacks?"

"Yes," Rouge nodded, sighing as she got a new glass of wine, unsurprised that Jessy was asking about honey bear, or that Sonic just wanted something sweet and full of calories. With that build and that glimpse of speed she would bet one of her favorite wing-claw rings that that male burned through calories much faster then she could. Vector ordered ale and that reptile wanted a small glass of white wine. Probably to keep Brain- _Vector_ from pestering him, "There's been a lot of activity." She twitched her ears, one aiming back to check on Tails, "And kidnapping of anthros of all types as well as odd vanishing of several humans. But it wasn't until that..." Rouge hesitated, picking her words out carefully, "That..."

"Massacre." Vector growled, baring his teeth at his ale.

"What?" Sonic and Jessy said at the said time, confused, and worried as they looked as one over to where the kit was sitting on his knees, now happily chatting with 'Emerald'. His two namesakes waving excitedly as he was given a basic of fries.

"Maybe this is best discussed a little more privately?" Espio suggested from his spot on a stool, tail loosely wrapped around the legs. He glanced at the older human male who was looking back.

"Likely a good idea." The stranger agreed, as Bill nodded.

"But Tails..." Sonic started.

Rouge stood, reaching out to pat a blue knee. "He'll be safe I promise. I own this building and the next one over, Breezy runs this place for me. But my security is as good as my information network handsome. I asked Emerald to watch him before you came up, that's why that bar is closed." She swayed her hips as she walked over to the older human, who was giving Sonic and thoughtful look, "Charles, would you walk me?" she asked, holding out her free hand, and smiling as he promptly set down his glass to do so.

The hedgehog waved at tails when the boy looked over, giving an exaggerated two thumbs up as he was the last to go after. Waiting until Tails waved back before trotting to catch up. He looked all around, and sighed soundlessly, but trusted that Jessy trusted this bat woman as they were lead to a back set of stairs to the level above. It seemed more like a restaurant area. Or rather many semi to privet dining rooms with a large oval table, one of them that Rouge came too, giving the elder man a kiss on his cheek. There was something oddly familiar about him to Sonic, but he couldn't place it. Something in his hazy memory, but he couldn't tell if it was before or after that truck.

The group settled down, Rouge asking a female canine anthro to let the chiefs know they would have whatever they wanted to survey in twenty minutes, and then the room's doors where closed with a guard outside.

"You're getting paranoid," Bill realized, having brought his drink as well.

"Rouse, my bike?" Jessy asked at the same time, "Did you have Big Mac moved...?"

"Yes, and yes," The bat nodded to both. "It's safe Jessy dear, and your bags are on the way up to your room."

"What did you mean a massacre?" Sonic demanded of the room, frowning as he claimed a seat beside his sister, quills fanning out.

"Don't give that look," Bill scolded Espio after seeing the reptile's expression, waving at Jessy and Sonic, "These two likely haven't been near any sort of news station. They're at the age of their Wander Years, out getting the worst out of their system before finding a convoy."

The mechanic swallowed thickly, "What are missing?"

"There was an attack, in a jungle sub-Zone," Vector spoke up, his shoulders slumping a little, and then he sat up, "An insect anthro kingdom, the Golden Blossom Hive was attacked. Half the Hive was killed; most of the others that didn't escape at first have gone completely missing. It happened about...six months ago." The big man motioned to the chameleon, "Not long after that, but before I met Espio here a survive came to me at Station Square. A woman and her son, turns out it was the surviving Queen and her only remaining son. Though she didn't admit it with the boy awake."

There was a faint scraping sound, Sonic's mostly rounded claws as his hands gripped and almost spazzimed before the runner grip the edge of the table. His emerald eyes wide as his expressive ears pinned back. Jessy was several shades paler, and slowly looking like she was getting sick, the younger two nomads were struggling to grasp what was said as reality. It seemed so unlikely, that couldn't be right. Even with the mysterious people back in Washington that had attacked them, it was a peaceful time in the world. Not like the uncertainly before the third world war.

"You have to be... there's no way...?" Jessy started, looking around the table.

Vector shook his head with Bill, "It's true. Whoever was after that colony, they came after the Lady. Torched my place and office almost, got her, but she saved Charmy by hiding him. I've been watching out for the kid ever sense."

"That's a kind thing to do," the older human said from his spot, inclining his head, "Considering the likely danger if that party wanted the child as an heir."

"I gave my word I would find his Hive, and his mother. I'm going to." Vector said firmly, before downing half his drink.

"I believe you," Charles nodded, smoothing down his pepper and salt mustache, glancing to Rouge, who had set down her glass and crossed her arms. The man turned to the two younger nomads. "Rouge mentioned you two were attacked by a mech?"

"...yeah," Sonic nodded, paused and he folded an ear back before looking at Jessy, "What did you call it?"

"It was one of those Hunter robots." Jessy said, "At least I think it was, it matched the descriptions from the internet." She gave a description of the robot, with Sonic while digging into her jacket for the camera to pass around.

"We founds Tails in side, he said that was taken when his home Zone was attacked." The hedgehog added as the camera was passed around.

"How did you take it down to get inside?" Bill asked, the armadillo flicked up his ears.

"Er, it's kind of a cross of stupid dumb luck and Sonic's speed." Jessy started to explain, "And finding the power source to disconnect it, but mostly it's all on Sonic for taking the thing down." At a few puzzled looks she gave a half hearted grin, still taken aback at the news of the Hive, pointing at the blue runner. "He's not called Sonic for no reason, and those quills are harder then they look."

"Add that to extreme speed." Sonic shrugged, rattling the quills that could be deadly, and then between him and Jessy they started to explain their story. How the robot was taken down, of Amy being attacked and her car destroyed, just how they found tails inside of the Hunter robot. The hedgehog didn't miss that he and his sister weren't being given a complete story of who might be behind the attack on them and the hive over dinner (dinner that was really good too!). There was something that the other four where hesitant to talk about with the two younger nomads and Espio there.

Something about it itched at Sonic's mind, like he should know but other than being brought up on events in the general public already, nothing was really divuldged yet.

And then a bomb shell was dropped it seemed when he was explaining how their Wander Years was unexpectedly started.

The armadillo anthro just about choked in perfect tandem with Rouge, and it took a lot of effort not the spit his steak onto the table, he was sure their hostess would kick him out. Grabbing his ale, he downed the last half of the glass to wash the food down the right pipe and gasped, "Kid, did you just say _Greavenson?_ "


	22. Oh this is my home, These roads that we have roamed

For the first time, Jessy did something she hadn't thought of doing since leaving her little shop and home those months ago. The woman winced more than once as her pen moved across the papers on the table beside her, guilty that she hadn't wrote to her family. Not really, nothing more than some cheep post cards dropped in with a smiley face from her with a wrench and some scribbled doodles from Sonic.

Taking a few days rest and recovery at Rouge's hotel, she had the chance and means to do this. A not so small box was sitting on the table with souvenirs for the younger brothers, it had Bill's hand writing on it. As Tails played in the shallow pool with other kids his age, human and anthro, the mechanic and hedgehog were taking the chance to write out some letters.

Sonic's handwriting was surprisingly better than normal, he was making an effort for his adoptive family and clan. Though his letter was more for every in general, while Jessy had two other short letters addressed to her parents and grandfather as well.

"Sonic come play!" Tails called over, waving his arms, water flying everywhere off his soaked fur.

The hedgehog winced as he looked up at the pool, flattening his ears back before forcing them up with a conscious effort, "Nah, go have fun with your new friends Tails!" he waved the pen he was doodling with, "I need to get this done!"

"I thought your hydrophobia was getting better." Jessy looked up, speaking softly so it would carry.

Sonic folded his ears back, "It is, but... I'm not going in something like that." He pointed over his wrist at the pool with his pen. The hedgehog looked down, not wanting to keep the subject up. Jessy opened her moth, hesitated but then sat back and let the subject drop. It was somewhat impressive Sonic was dealing as well as he was being nearly beside the pool. Creeks and streams were one thing, most of those were shallow enough that Sonic was barely ankle deep. Bodies of water larger then that or a shower, or the really big storms unnerved the hedgehog greatly.

"So, that Professor Charles guy," Jessy started, looking back up after a few words, "You know that map he gave me a few nights ago when he left?"

"Yeah?" Sonic looked up again, flicking one ear at the mock screams from Tails, he was still confused at the man. More so that Charles had gripped Sonic's shoulders and said with a strange intense feeling that he was glad that Sonic was alright, safe and happy before almost seeming to vanish in the crowd in the next few minutes. The hedgehog _knew_ that he knew the man but not from where, and by the time he remembered this the grey eyed human and his mustache was gone. Not even Rouge had known where he went, and that was something that now impressed Sonic the more he learned about the bat anthro.

"I finally figured it out." Jessy pulled out one of the papers from the box, a copy she had made of the map. It was really more than one, "Its layered, like this one here, this is _this_ Zone." Jessy spread the map over the table and pointed, "It shows Warp Rings, it took old Bill showing me after lunch today, and the symbols are showing how that Ring links to subzones, to other Zones" she flipped the map over, "As well as to the old world."

Sonic leaned forward, his ears up and eyes bright. "He gave you a lot of folded up papers..."

"Yeah, but look." Jessy pointed at one of the stylized symbols for a Warp Ring, how it was a little bolder in color.

The hedgehog took the map, looking it over, finding where that Ring led to, and another, then he paused, "We can get to Oregon from Metropolis?" Sonic asked, surprised, they had been in bottom part of Arizona he thought before they crossed into the Zone.

"Not just there," Jessy folded up that map, putting it back in the box before grabbing one out of her jacket on the back of her chair. She partly unfolded another to point at the handmade chart, "Look."

The hedgehog took a moment, absorbing the sight of the little head drawn above the Warp Ring icon. Sonic gripped the table, his quills fanning out and off his shoulders as he realized what the thing was, what was exposed in the map of this Zone. Emerald eyes turned to focus on Tails, down to the map, and back up at Jessy. "That's it, isn't it?" He grinned wide, "Fox Valley."

"Ready to go in the morning?" Jessy asked, grinning back.

"Chaos yes!" Sonic nodded, "When should we tell Tails?" He looked back at the kit, who was trying to push his longer head fur out of his eyes.

"Room service dinner in?" Jessy offered.

Sonic nodded, "…maybe let him ware himself out some more though? So the kiddo can sleep tonight."

"Yeah. Good call."

With that plan set, the two finished their box to send home, with a few pictures added in. One showing off Sonic new ring in his right ear, to make use of the hole he said, and of close up of him, Tails and Jessy making faces at the camera. When Tails slopped over, Jessy took the boy to the shower to rise out the pool water out of his fur, taking the opportunity to get Tails scrubbed and cleaned so his fur didn't smell like chlorine and he wouldn't put up a fuss at getting a bath in the hotel room later.

Sonic came back from giving the sealed box to Bill as the older nomad was leaving that evening. It took only one look at the fox kit in the hall to have the rubber burst out laughing, doubling over and gasping for breath.

" _Sonic!"_ Tails protested, stamping a foot and tried to cross his arms. The insides of his ears where flushed with color as he blushed, "Its not funny!" The boy cried out, regretting that he hadn't listened to Jessy when he had run around in the drying room instead of letting the woman help brush his fur. If they hadn't already been fluffed out, his namesake tails would have bushed in his indignation, but they did seem a little fraction bigger if possible.

Sonic gasped, clutching at his chest and dissolved into more laughter seeing the camera Jessy had, "Oh man- talk about a poof ball kiddo!"

"I'm not poofy!" Tails insisted, almost flouncing away from the two, twords the elevators, he could hear Jessy snickering and though she was keeping a better poker face the boy was still embarrassed.

"Sorry Tails, but you are all sorts of adorable right now." Jessy said, fallowing, letting Sonic hold onto one shoulder for support as he struggled to get it under control. The fact that most all the canines in the building had to stop and comment on how cute Tails was in his puppy fur only added to the boy's modification, and that they were honest compliments he had to say thank you like his mother thought him.

"I'm so glad I'm a short hair." Sonic muttered, still grinning as they approached their room.

"As if you don't fluff up." Jessy snorted, getting the key card out of her jacket.

"I do, but not that much!"

"It's not funny Sonic!" Tails crossed his arms again, standing beside their door in all his gold and white, uncombed fluffy glory. "It's _not._ "

"Sorry Tails, it is." Jessy smiled, ruffling the boy's head fluff as she opened the door, letting Tails run in to go find the brushes and attempt to tame his fur down again.

Sonic flopped down on his bed, streaching out and kicking off his shoes. Getting comfortable as dinner was picked and ordered. Jessy relented and sat on the slightly larger bed that she shared with the boy, helping Tails brush his fur coat back into order, as things were settling down Sonic couldn't resist any more, "Hey Tails."

"What?" The kit asked, weary of any fluffy jokes, coming out of the happy trance of being brushed by someone he trused.

"Ready to go home tomorrow?" Sonic rolled over onto his side facing the other two, his head propped up on his left wrist, smiling again but not the teasing kind.

It took a few seconds of blinking, before Tails turned to stare up at Jessy with large sky blue eyes.

The mechanic smiled back down warmly, "Guess what we found out today."

Tails gasped, feeling tears form in his eyes without permission. The exited, laughing cries of a child were heard in the hall way for almost five minutes before settling in volume as the kit took turns hugging and burring his face in Jessy and Sonic's chests.


	23. Echo

Insistent tugging on her arms drew Jessy's attention downwards, cocking her head to the side to look over the lip in her helmet to see the kit, slowing down as she did so. Tails had his own helmet on still, but was reaching up to touch it, "What is it Tails?" Jessy asked once slowed enough.

"Can we stop Jessy?" Tailed yelled enough to be heard, speaking just a little too loud as a youth would.

The large, converted motorcycle slowed more before stopping behind the runner. It would take Sonic a moment to realize Jessy wasn't keeping up with his jogging pace. Not that they had been going very fast to start with, as the two were searching for the real life equivalent path of the line on the map. She checked the power stone's charge in her motorcycle, both on the display in her helmet, and then around Tails to check the physical readouts.

"What's wrong Tails?" Jessy asked, taking the helmet that Tails pulled off, hocking it on the back, they were at a slight tilt with one foot bracing the vehicle.

"It's not wrong..." The kit wiggled and flicked his namesake tails free from how they had been tucked. He leaned forward, careful not to touch anything he shouldn't on the motorcycle, taking in the leafy green trees surrounding them on this half overgrown dirt road.

"Have you seen this place before?" Jessy asked, glancing up at movement, Sonic was coming back with ears pricked. The woman pulled her own helmet off, unzipping her jacket all the way as the becoming heat of the summer day started to affect her.

"I think so," Tails blinked, and then gave a wiggle of repressed excitement, "Its around here! Home is around here! I saw this place before Sonic! Mama took me for a walks around here." He reached out first to grab at Sonic's hand, ten squeaked as he was picked up and hugged by the blue anthro.

"Really?" the male asked, Sonic's ears were up, interested as he looked around, setting Tails down but holding the kit's hand. "Well, let's see if we can't find something more familiar."

"Is that grammatically correct?" Jessy asked suddenly as she got up to push the motorcycle. Though 'Big Mac' was still humming as it wasn't fully turned off, it had since been fully converted to run on power stones in the group's stay in the Metropolis Zone. Jessy and Sonic not needing as much sleep as Tails, the mechanic commandeered Rouge's privet garage in exchange for doing a paint pattern on one of her new cars.

Sonic slowed, looking up through the green leaves of the trees that bowed over the dirt road above, seemingly to half hide it, "Even more familiar?" He tried after a moment, grinning as Tails giggled.

"I think so?" Jessy frowned and then shrugged, glancing down at the fox kit as he was allowed to run ahead, his twin namesakes waving in the air excitedly as the boy ran to an ancient fallen tree. A giant old pine that was starting to crumble but still remained solid, yet had smaller trees growing out of it, its root mass stood a good fifteen feet up and a few trailing, cord like roots still dangled down over a few feet of the dirt road.

"Sonic! Jessy!" Tails bounced in place, excitedly, pointing at the fallen monster tree, "I remember this! Daddy climbed up to the top with me! He let me hang onto his tail and pulled me up and momma took picture- then yelled at Daddy when he jumped down with me on his back!" Tails gasped in air, turning shinning sky blue eyes back at the other two, "But we were so hiiiigh up! I remember seeing the Guardian- Echo waved at...us..."

The boy trailed off, blinking. Tails looked up at the crown of roots, feeling it was too high to climb himself.

"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked as he took a step back, and then he was faightly blurring as the hedgehog nimbly scaled up the tree to perch on top.

"Yeah..." Tails ran back to grasp the human's hand, "Jessy! Can you come stand here please?"

Arching an eyebrow, the woman propped her motorcycle up on its stands and let herself be dragged, "Okay, what for?"

Tails pulled on both of Jessy's hands, and then stopped to look back at the tree where the blue anthro was, but the kit didn't notice that the older male was staring almost blankly into space, "Mamma was standing here, Daddy was almost where Sonic was and..." Tails stepped back, his eyes unfocused as the boy was working to reconstruct his memory better, trying to use some of those ways that the old nomads used to do that he heard about at bed time over the last months with Sonic and Jessy, "We came from... that way I think."

Jessy lifted a hand partly, realizing what Tails was trying to do, and couldn't help a swelling lump of pride that half tried to choke her, for the look of focus as the kit was trying to remember the smells of that day. Remembering his path from that point, and then backwards, telling her aloud as if trying to explain an important nonmedical path in the old times. After a few moments she looked up and blinked at Sonic, tilting her head at his expression, or lack thereof. That zone out he had when something she couldn't see or sense was what his full and complete attention was on.

For the dark blue hedgehog, everything had taken a coppery tint, time slowing to a crawl as the hedgehog shifted mental gears. As if he were running near or at his top speed, rather than standing perfectly still. It was something Sonic was learning, getting used to becoming hyper aware of his environment while in one spot let his sense just absorb more of what was around him.

This wasn't something Sonic could focus on doing long, but some latent thing from back... back before he had woken up. That first time before finding himself in the middle of the road and before the truck, yet the anthro was also reminded of something more resent. It felt like the energy that came off the Warp Rings, after traveling through four of them to not only get to Metropolis but through two of its sub-Zones and back into the Old World.

What was that truly called again?

Chaos...

Not just an expletive of a sorts but a real kind of energy, or rather three kinds.

Sonic blinked, coming out of it, wondering how exactly he knew of the different kinds of Chaos as the last minute of conversation bleed back into his consciousness. He flicked his ears up at the head tilt Jessy was giving him, sensing the unasked question before Sonic realized he turned to look in the derection Tails mentioned the Guardian had come from.

Sonic jumped down, landing lightly as he kept his balance on one foot then stared at where he had picked up that Chaos energy. Now that he was aware of it, it was semi-beacon like, pulsing that nutral Chaos out ever four seconds.

"I think you're right tails, its this way." Sonic said, smiling at the kit and holding out his hand, "Want to go see?"

"Yeah!" Tails nodded, brightening as he came over to grip several of the hedgehog's fingers, "I was right?"

"Only one way to find out," Jessy said from behind as she stepped back to get her bike, fallowing after the two at and easy pace, after making sure helmets and the shrugged off jacket wouldn't fall. Her over shirt was pulled off so it was only Jessy's sensor top on in the rising heat of the day. How did the two anthro's manage not to flop over, being covered in fur like that?

"I think it might be this way..." Sonic said, pausing after a few minutes' walk to look down a path that crossed the dirt road, like an older trail in a park might.

"It looks familiar..." Tails murmered, staying with the blue furred anthro. It wasn't until he turned around to make sure Jessy was still with them that he saw it, sucking in his breath and gripping Sonic in fright.

"What is it lil' buddy?" Sonic asked, turning his attention down, and seeing the fear in the kit his quills lifted in an instinctual reaction, turning to scan and then paused. Sonic pointed up at the half broken robotical thing lodged into the tree, "Hey Jessy, look."

Jessy craned her neck to look up, but it wasn't ontil she was by the two that she really got a good look, "Whoa... does that look like its been... _torn?_ "

Realizing it was safe, Tails' grip eased a bit, though he looked around with a nervus swallow and sniffed, "Do...do you think those mechs came back?"

"No," It was Jessy who spoke as she pointed up, "Look closely Tails, see the trailing moss that's over that wing part? Not cushed under it? And the green moss that's growing in a few edges, like with cars that have been sitting for a long time? I bet this was here through the winter." She smiled down at the fox as Sonic picked him up, "remember that Junk yard we went to in the sub-Zone? When we got some power stones?" at the nod from Tails she pointed up again, "See the edges of the broken metal?"

"...It doesn't look sharp." Tails realized, as what was said sank in and he committed this to memory, what he could use in the future to help tell the age of mecha.

"It doesn't look like a new crash," Sonic noted himself, looking at the ground, "None of the undergrowth is broken Tails. It must be left over, just stuck up in that big fur."

Tails relaxed with a sigh, wrapping his arms around Sonic's neck in relief, "So Fox Valley is alright?"

"Maybe?" Jessy swallowed, hoping so for the kit's sake, then gave the hedgehog a look and a small motion to keep going. "Like I said, only one way to find out." Jessy said, preying to the northern winds that this Zone hadn't suffered like that Hive had. She wasn't sure if Tails' could hadn't it, having been going mostly on the hope of getting home. To come all this way over and so close, if... if...

Jessy shook her head, pushing with the toes of her boots to go forwards as Sonic lead the way, like he was being drawn to something unseen. The dark blue hedgehog shook his head, the long quills rattling against each other as he did so in a secondary movement before he paused on the track, seeing what was ahead in a small clearing first.

"Ohh…yeah that's it Tails. I bet my tail on it." The mentioned appendage twitched and flicked as Sonic moved into the area, stepping aside to let Jessy come up beside him.

"This will never not be amazing." Sonic looked up at Jessy's voice, the spell of wonder he had been under braking a little. The mechanic grinned at her fuzzy brother, pointing to the ever so slowly rotating Warp Ring that was hovering, pretty as you please. "No lines. And... does that look like its healthier than the others?"

"It does," Sonic said thoughtfully as he put the fox down before resting a hand on top of Tails' head. The kit soon had his arms wrapped around the right leg of the older anthro as he still stared at the Warp Ring with wide eyes, overcome with nervousness suddenly.

It was so tempting to reach out and touch the golden ring... Jessy gripped the handle bars of her motorcycle tightened for a moment. Touch a Warp Ring and you go somewhere else if you're ready or not.

"Sooo…" Sonic tipped one ear up as he tilted his head to the side. "Ready?" he looked down as the hedgehog felt a shiver, emerald eyes softened before he knelt down wraping an arm around the small body. "Hey, heeey Tails. Its going to be okay. In the end, I promise it'll be okay."

The kit looked up, trying to hold in tears from anxiety, "Promise?"

"I. _Promise_." Sonic put a hand over his heart on the two tone chest.

Another hand rested on Tails' head.

"We _both_ promise." Jessy added crouching beside the two, smiling warmly.

Tails sniffed, and then jumped to grab both, trying to hug the hedgehog and human that had been taking care of him, and brought him _home,_ at the same time. Sonic laughed and managed to hug Tails for a bright, tight moment between them. That seemed to be what was needed to get the kit grinning again, bolstered by honest affection and care for him.

Sonic stood with Tails back in his arms once more, waiting for Jessy to get the motorcycle again. He shifted to let her grab his shoulder, and then reached out to touch the Warp Ring. For a moment, the world shifted and time held still. Everything around them turned to streaks and blurs of color as they passed through the Warp Ring.

Abruptly everything returned to normal and Sonic's next breath of hair smelled not of heat warmed plants but cooler, wet stone. He blinked a few times, looking around at what looked like a have cave-cavern, opening to the view of a impressive, ovel shaped valley between two mountains, in the distance a faint haze of the Zone boarders were seen as the group came out and into the open road way. This Zone wasn't as large as some, but just as old, and Sonic could sense there were sub-Zones tied into it, at least three. More than enough to help support the population

Knocking the kick-stand out and cutting power to the motorcycle, Jessy took a few steps aside to get a better look at the valley below and in front of them. "So this is Fox Valley? Wow...ts beautiful Tails!"

"It is."

The three spun around at the new voice to their left. Sonic's quills flaring automadic as he held the kit tighter before his eyes bugged out a bit. Gaping with his ears laid back at the form that was materializing out the tree shadows.

Almost glowing red eyes narrowed as the Guardian loomed over the Nomads from seven feet, gray in fur and quill color. The anthro stepped fully out of the shade cast from the thick trees around them fully and towards the, "You had better have a _good_ _reason_ to be here with a kit that's been missing for over seven months."

Tails screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -does a happy wiggle dance- The fluffy, I get to write my grey fluffy again! FLUFFY ECHO! (I missed writing him, I'm such a dork)


	24. The Valley

"You had better have a good reason to be here with a kit that's been missing for five months."

The voice was on the soft side, but a power was hidden somewhere with in it, just like his body that hid his true strength. The new Anthro had gray fur and quills that stuck up almost wildly behind him. Two gold rings were pierced through the base of his left ear and a silver ring through the right ear.

Unlike Sonic, this new hedgehog was broader in the shoulders. He was not nearly as lean, but built for power instead of speed. He also was taller than the three travelers; he seemed, in fact, to be even taller than he really was thanks to the long, silver streaked quills that were lifted above his head. His wrists were wrapped for extra sport and his black and red shoes were dirt-stained from long hours of walking in the woods.

The gray hedgehog stepped out of the shadows that were cast from the thick forest around then. His crimson colored eyes narrowed, flicking from Sonic to Jessy then down to Tails.

"ECHO!" The fox kit yelled and launched himself from the blue hedgehog's arms in a jump that impressed the others, his twin tails spinning against one another as he landed in open hands of the Guardian of Fox Valley.

"Miles, are you alright?" Echo asked after he let the boy hug his neck and lifted Tails up so he could get a good look at the fox kit to make sure he was not injured in any way.

"Yeah!" Tails nodded energetically, "Sonic and Jessy saved me and brought me back! They're really, really nice, so was Amy before she had to leave. Did you know that Jessy can cook _better_ than dad can! And you won't believe how fast Sonic can run! He's like _Zoooom!_ And I saw some _biiiiiiiiig_ human cities! And I learned how to work the Inter-Net on a computer! I got to see another big Zone too! And I tried a kiwi Italian soda; it's my favorite drink now. OH! And Jessy got me real kiwis! They're a lot more sour then the soda, but still good. Have you or Jen ever tried a kiwi before?"

"No..." Echo shook his head, the quills rattling as he set the hyper fox down. He raised an eye ridge up at the over sized jacket on Tails as the kit rambled off as fast as the blue hedgehog could apparently run. He caught the human's scent on it and guessed the woman had given it to the boy against the slight chill of the Warp Ring.

"Hey Echo!" Tails cut himself off as he realized something, "Maybe Jen could take cooking lessens from Jessy so you don't have to cook all the time?"

There was nothing like an exited Tails to enthusiastically break awkward ice into the consistency of a smoothie for everyone to metaphorically share. All three of the adults managed to face palm in the last minute of babbling.

For some reason Echo blushed, the insides of his ears flushing as he straightened up. Sonic snickered, not bothering to hid it as he now saw a living being, not that moment of terrifying towering Guardian, he crossed his arms as Sonic leaned against Jessy's motorcycle. However, his movement drew Tails' attention and the fox ran back to him. Reaching up to grab the blue Anthro's hand, Tails dragged him over to the other hedgehog.

"Sonic this is Echo!" The boy said before going over to Jessy, who picked him up. "He's the _Guardian._ "

"Nice to meet you Echo." Jessy said walking over with the squirming fox. "Tails has been talking non-stop about you and this valley."

"I can see that." Echo said as he bowed shallowly but still politely to Jessy, who flushed a wee little bit, "Welcome to my valley, and thank you returning Miles back to his home."

"It's no problem." Sonic shrugged and offered his hand to the other hedgehog, "We don't have any real place to be. Besides, it was the right thing to do."

Echo grasped the offered, gloved hand loosely so not to hurt the other hedgehog. "Not many from outside our valley would say that, thank you."

"Where's Jen?" Tails asked as he looked around, knowing that Echo was never far away from his best friend, Jennifer.

"She's back at the ruins, Jenny was hurt in Robotnik's attack. I need to get her before taking you to the village." The gray hedgehog turned away and glanced back, tilting his head in a 'follow me' gesture before partly melding back into the trees' shadows.

Sonic and Jessy blinked and then stared at one another at the name Robotnik, the mechanic frowning and the hedghog pinned his ears back for a moment. Sonic shrugged though, seeing no reason not too go and opened his arms as Jessy passed Tails to him. The woman walked back to grab and walk her motorcycle after the Anthros.

"What ruins are you talking about Echo?" the mechanic asked once she caught up to others, she had most of her attention on keeping the motorcycle upright over the dirt path.

"They're very old, Jenny and Grandma believe that ancient fox and echidna type Anthros lived here long before the Warp Rings opened to the Old World." Echo said, standing aside for a moment until Jessy was abreast of him and he helped her with the bike. Only keeping one hand on the nearer bar as he nodded at her 'thank you.' "Here. Anyways, Jenny has her heart set on translating all of the old text at the ruins. She thinks that she will find a way to Angel Island."

"Angel Island?" Jessy looked over at Echo, or more up at his red eyes.

"I thought you said that place was a myth sis." Sonic tiled his head, one ear tipping up higher.

"There is far more to it than that." The gray hedgehog said, "But that will have to wait. Here, let me take this up Jessy dear and I shall come back for you three."

Jessy and Sonic choked after they walked into a clearing. It wasn't the small cliff or the skeletal remains of buildings that made the two falter. It was the sight of Echo effortlessly lifting up Jessy's motorcycle with one hand over his head. The gray Anthro crouched, the muscles on his legs rippled under his fur before Echo power jumped up to the ruins. The three left behind heard the thump as he landed.

"Whoa..." Sonic's eyes had widen to emerald plates, taken a bake for the first time like so many had been like at seeing his speed for the first time.

"Holy...!" Jessy wheezed, hands still out as if holding her motorcycle- where she had been holding it to steer a moment ago.

"Echo seems sad."

Jessy and Sonic blinked, coming out of their awe at different mental gears.

"What was that lil' buddy?" Sonic flattened his ears to the side as he made a top-priority mental note to never, ever get on Echo's bad side if he even didn't blink at lifting that heavy bike up like he did. Sonic knew he was faster, but if the other hedgehog even got one hand on him...

Eep!

Jessy shook her head and turned to look at the kit that was still in Sonic's arms. "Why do you say Echo is sad Tails?"

"He's really quiet, and hasn't looked at me much." Tails looked down, pulling on one large ear in a nervous habit, "Its not like before."

"I'm sure it's okay Tails." Sonic said, lifting the boy up high, trying to cheer him up before setting the kit down on his feet.

"If you say so..."

"Yeah, I do!"

Echo slammed into the ground, a crack or two forming into the earth and scaring the daylights out of the three. Well, in truth, he only scared Sonic and Jessy . The latter giving a short scream and the former scooping up his sister and bolting to the other side of the clearing where they clung together.

It highlighted one of Sonic's first instincts when he was startled: _Run away_ from what-ever then see that the threat is.

The grey hedgehog blinked a few times as Tails giggled softly, pushing his hands to his mouth.

"Holy crap! Don't DO that to me!" Sonic said, taking one of Jessy's lines that she normally used on _him_ as he came back in front of Echo. He had Jessy in his arms as the woman tried to jump-start her heart again, muttering something about going to an early grave thanks to hyper and jumpy hedgehogs that were _all over the place_ now.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to scare you…" Echo lifted his hands up, but they could see that he wasn't hiding the not so small smirk forming. He hadn't meat to scare them but didn't feel ashamed to take some amusement out of the reactions either.

"I wasn't scared!" Sonic sniffed trying to recover some of his dignity as Jessy leaned on his shoulder after being put down.

"Yeah right," Jessy whispered as she tugged on her hedgehog brother's ear. He shook his head a movement that turned into a full-body shake, making Jessy yelp and took half a step back to keep from falling on her rear end by way of vibrating hedgehog.

"Up there right?" Sonic looked at Echo then up at the top of the cliff, his ears flicking back and up twice.

"Yes..." Echo tilted his head as he picked up Tails, letting the kit half fall over his shoulder so he could get a free piggy-back ride.

"See ya up there!" Sonic backtracked then, two steps he was back to Jessy, grabbing her before he bolted at the cliff face. Sonic grinned and tightened his hold on Jessy, who had her face pressed into the spot between his neck and shoulder. "I got you sis, don't worry."

For some reason Sonic felt he had to show some of his own skills after seeing Echo's power jump. And he did, not just from the reflex to run away. Sonic didn't run nearly at his full speed, but fast enough to let him run straight up the cliff face.

"You _are_ trying to give me a heart attack!" Jessy said as she was put down on her feet.

"OW!" Sonic sidestepped away after Jessy retaliated for the stunt by pulling his ear again, this time not playful but a sharper mostion. He turned to face Echo as the other hedgehog power jumped up to them.

"This way." The gray Anthro waved them to follow. He closed one eye as Tails climbed up to sit on his head. Echo smiled, he was well use to the ways of young foxes and really didn't mind it.

"Echo!" a new woman's voice greated from ahead.

"Jen!" Tails screamed again as the fox kit launched himself at a dark haired human, his twin tails spinning against one another fast enough that he almost glided down to the ground. Tails sprinted the rest of the way and out right latched onto the young woman.

"TAILS?!" Jennifer had a light brown vest on, a green shirt under and a long skirt that had once been red, but time and use had worn it down to a more brownish color. Her right leg was stretched out, wrapped in a solid, protective cast.

She was pretty, if a bit on the short side, everyone but Tails seemed to be taller then her. Tears of relief formed in her brown eyes as she hugged the kit against her, demanding to know if he was alright, where he had been and how he got back. Tails rambled off again, repeating what he had told Echo, but adding in more things about Sonic and how he was saved.

Jessy grinned as she leaned against her motorcycle, hoping she was safe from shenanigans there as she looked over and saw the soft look Echo was giving the girl. It wasn't hard to see or guess that there was a deeper level between these two. She looked back at her adoptive brother and returned his thumbs up at the real victory.

Tails was _home._

"Where's Momma and Dad Jen? I want them to meet Sonic and Jessy!" That single question though, as it turned out, marred the victory.

Jennifer's happiness at seeing the kit died, draining away like water down a sink as the kit asked her his question, "...you don't know yet." It wasn't a question but realization that just slapped her.

"They just came from the Warp Ring, he couldn't have." Echo looked away, he's ears flattening back against his head.

Sonic own ears came up as he stepped up beside Jessy. They looked at one another, a bad feeling creeping into both of them.

 _Don't say it. Don't say it. Please don't say it..._ the mechanic prayed as she remembered some of the things Tails had said the past two weeks as well as a few thing Echo had said too.

" _Jessy isn't bad like Robotnik!_ "

" _Robotnik kit-napped me..._ "

" _Fox Valley was attack by those Hunter Robots._ "

" _I was lost when Robotnik kit-napped me..._ "

" _I hope my Dad and Momma are okay too Sonic._ "

"... _Jenny was hurt in Robotnik's attack._ " Echo's voice from a few minutes ago resounded with other things Tails had mentioned over the trip.

 _Please don't say it..._ Sonic thought, willed with every fiber of his being from the bottom of his stomach to ever strand end of fur and quill.

Tails looked from Jennifer to Echo, his large ears curved forwards as he picked up on something. Something the two were holding back. Something he wouldn't like. Something he knew was bad, very bad.

Wide sky blue eyes trued up to the Guardian Fox Valley, "...where's my Momma Echo?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fear me readers, I give you joy and happiness, only to start to break your heart. Yes, in fact we are back to this part of the story, only I'm expanding on it to develop characters more. And to kill you will Feeeeeels


End file.
